The Vancouver Canucks will play their home games at Rogers Arena when the NHL resumes its COVID-19-shortened season this month.
B.C. Premier John Horgan made the announcement by Twitter Sunday afternoon.
“After speaking with (Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini) yesterday about the NHL’s return-to-play plan, I’m pleased to confirm the enhanced health measures being put in place for the upcoming season mean games can safely be played here in BC,” Horgan wrote.
The Canucks launched their training camp off-ice on Sunday, after Ottawa gave players and staff an exemption to the mandatory 14-day quarantine for return to Canada on “national interest grounds.”
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and her counterparts across the country recently made written recommendations to the NHL on a safe return to play.
But the final say on whether teams would be able to play their home games at home was left up to individual Canadian provinces.
The 56-game season is slated to begin on Jan. 13.
Under the pandemic divisional realignment, Canadian teams will only play one another during the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Also on Sunday, the Canucks revealed they had signed former Calgary defenseman Travis Hamonic to a professional tryout contract.
He will join the club for training camp after a seven-day quarantine, as outlined in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
The Canucks’ first home game is scheduled for Jan. 20, and kicks off a three-day series against the Montreal Canadiens.
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