The NHL’s one-time-only, all-Canadian division has cleared its final hurdle.
Next stop, puck drop.
The Manitoba government said Friday it will allow the Winnipeg Jets to play home games during the COVID-19 pandemic, joining Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia in giving the NHL’s plan to resume action north of the border this season the thumbs up.
Manitoba announced a minor modification to current public health orders on Friday, allowing professional hockey games to be played. The move comes five days before the NHL season begins next Wednesday.
The approval came the same day the Dallas Stars closed their facility after six players and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. The Columbus Blue Jackets, meanwhile, said Friday a number of players didn’t practise “out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with NHL COVID-19 protocols.”
The season features a new North Division that will see the seven Canadian franchises only play one another instead of crossing into the United States for games due to border restrictions related to non-essential travel and the current 14-day quarantine. The same goes for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
WATCH: Manitoba approves ‘robust’ plan:
Manitoba Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said he understands why local parents of young hockey players might be frustrated to hear the pros can play but their children can’t, but he said the ‘robust’ plan put forth by the NHL is safe and will return some semblancy of normalcy to life during the pandemic. 1:27
No fans present for games
There will be no fans present for games in Canadian NHL arenas, at least to start the schedule, while players and team staff have to adhere to a number of protocols when on the road — which include being restricted to the hotel and rink.
“The protocols here are very good,” Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen said Friday. “Of course we’re happy to do what we like to do. And I feel grateful for that.”
Players are being tested daily for the novel coronavirus during training camp. That will continue for at least the first four weeks of the regular season, but there is still increased risk when compared to the tightly controlled bubbles the NHL employed to resume the 2019-20 campaign in Toronto and Edmonton this summer.
Ontario sport minister Lisa MacLeod announced Thursday the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs were good to host games in 2021, posting on Twitter: “This approval was granted after close scrutiny of the rigorous health and safety protocols that will be adopted to keep players, staff and our communities safe from the spread of COVID-19.”
The other three provinces had previously given consent, although Quebec Premier Francois Legault had to reiterate earlier this week the Canadiens would be permitted to play in Montreal despite his government instituting a curfew from Saturday through Feb. 8 in hopes of curbing the spread of COVID-19.
“The people from the Canadiens have had long discussions with public health,” Legault said Wednesday. “I think Quebecers want … to see hockey games.
“It’s done completely safely, and they have the means to pay for that safety.”
And while NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Dec. 24 the league believed it had an agreement in place to hold games in Canada, none of the five provinces in question — which each had to sign off — provided formal confirmation until Dec. 31.
Alberta gave green light for Calgary, Edmonton
Alberta released a statement to The Canadian Press on New Year’s Eve saying it had greenlighted games for the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers six days earlier, while Manitoba and B.C. both indicated their jurisdictions were still holding discussions.
B.C. eventually gave its blessing Sunday. Quebec followed suit Monday and Ontario did the same Thursday before Manitoba rounded things out Friday.
The federal government previously gave the start of training camps the go-ahead and also the waived its 14-day quarantine rule under “national interest grounds” in favour of a modified plan for players and team staff returning to the country.
The Leafs and Canadiens open the shortened 56-game season Wednesday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena before the Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place later that evening. The Jets begin their schedule by welcoming the Flames the following night at Bell MTS Place, while Ottawa gets started Jan. 15 at Canadian Tire Centre against Toronto.
OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.
Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.
American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.
Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.
Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.
The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.
Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.
The game was not immediately rescheduled.
“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.
BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.
Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes.
The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.
Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year’s Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.
He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.
Shapovalov will next face the winner of a match scheduled for later Thursday between defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
