Not since the days of the 21-team NHL has the path to the Stanley Cup Final been so clear for a Canadian team.
Whoever emerges from the Group of Seven under the proposed rules for a reimagined 2020-21 season would waltz straight into the Final Four.
Can you imagine the buzz?
Four of the Canucks, Flames, Oilers, Jets, Senators, Leafs and Canadiens would be promised a spot in the Stanley Cup tournament, setting the stage for three-all Canadian best-of-sevens and a guaranteed representative with games still to play while 27 other NHL teams are already at home.
Of course, this being an age defined by uncertainty and impermanence, there’s only one hitch.
And it’s a rather large one.
Even as the NHL and its players reached tentative agreement on the protocols and rules governing a radically reimagined season on Friday night, the health authorities in Canada had yet to endorse the plan.
In fact, a call was scheduled with the provinces on Saturday to continue those discussions. So far, they’ve not gone smoothly, which is why the NHL has been forced to at least entertain the idea of moving its seven Canadian teams to the U.S. for the season, as Sportsnet first reported this week.
But that is not a path anyone with a vested interest in these discussions truly wants to walk down.
The league is endeavouring to create an all-Canadian division that features 56 games per team played entirely among the Group of Seven. That would eliminate the need to cross the federal border and observe quarantines.
However, it must get five provinces to sign off on the protocols governing play and there’s been some resistance from government officials about having seven teams criss-cross the country for games. The NHL’s plan calls for players to be tested at least every second day — it could potentially be every day — while essentially creating little bubbles around each team with as little outside contact as possible.
Charter planes would be used for all travel and the health standards at road hotels and restaurants would be strictly monitored. Players would basically be confined to the hotel and rink, too. The league must do everything it can to assuage concerns about how it might be impacting the public health risk at a time when COVID-19 cases are surging.
Where this gets really interesting is the NHL is targeting a Jan. 3 start to training camps and a Jan. 13 puck drop on the regular season. That’s a little more than three weeks from now. Unless the provincial governments have a quick change of heart, the discussions with the NHL are going to quickly start pushing up against those dates.
Everyone is flying by the seat of their pants to some degree here — basically a necessity amid a pandemic.
For example, the San Jose Sharks are going to conduct training camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., because of health restrictions in Santa Clara County but it’s not yet clear how long they’ll remain there and how exactly that will impact their playing schedule.
Decisions will be put off until the last possible second to make sure as much information as possible is available when making them.
In the event this Canadian division fails to get the necessary government support, the NHL and NHLPA would have to quickly agree on another path forward. The most obvious alternatives are a hub setup in Edmonton or the relocation of all the teams to the United States.
However, it’s entirely possible the league will wait beyond the opening of training camps before pivoting in another direction. There’s a deep-seated desire to try and make this work for the Canadian teams in their own markets.
That helps explain why everything isn’t playing out in a predictable sequential order right now. Friday night’s tentative NHL/NHLPA agreement was significant because it marked the end of multiple weeks of back-and-forth on minute details — the creation of four- to six-man taxi squads, altered formulas for performance bonuses and other thresholds, voluntary opt-out language for any payer wishing not to play and the like — but some major loose ends will remain even after the executive boards ratify the deal in the days ahead.
The Canada question is the biggest of them all.
We now know there’s going to be a season and it’s one that holds amazing possibility, especially for fans in the country that lays claim to the sport. But it may not be allowed to go ahead as intended.
After a year like this one, what a shame that would be.
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Here’s a look at the proposed realigned divisions in the tentative NHL/NHLPA agreement:
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
