British Columbia’s health minister says the province will announce whether the Vancouver Canucks can play in their home arena for the upcoming, shortened NHL season “soon.”
“It’ll be in the next few days,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix a Thursday COVID-19 briefing in Vancouver.
The 56-game season is slated to begin on Jan. 13, and Ottawa has issued an exemption to the mandatory 14-day quarantine for NHL players and staff to return to Canada under “national interest grounds.”
However, the final say on whether games can take place will fall to the five provinces which host NHL teams.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said she and her counterparts in those provinces have collaborated to make their recommendations on a safe return to play to the NHL.
Those recommendations were combined into a letter penned by Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
“We believe those plans meet the safety protocols in terms of public health risk,” she said.
“It’s now over to the respective provinces to determine whether the NHL games will happen or not.”
Deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly said on Dec. 24 that he believed the league would be able to operate in all seven Canadian cities that host teams.
Under the pandemic divisional realignment, Canadian teams will only play one another during the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Dix said whether or not the Canucks would play home games in Vancouver was not call to make, but hinted that the club could be on track to get the green light.
“I would say those recommendations, which were unanimous from across the country, will be accepted here in British Columbia,” he said.
“It will be soon.”
The Canucks’ first home game is scheduled for Jan. 20, and kicks off a three-day series against the Montreal Canadiens.
— With files from the Canadian Press