NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said he hopes the NHL teams in Canada will be able to play at home this season.
“Based on our discussions [with provincial health authorities] last week, as well as our correspondence in the last 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions under which each of our Canadian franchises can start playing in their own buildings for the beginning of 2020- 21 NHL season “Daly said in a statement on Thursday.
The NHL season is scheduled to start on January 13, after the league and the NHL Players’ Association concluded a deal on Sunday to hold a 56-game season that would include playoffs that would last until July to host the Stanley Cup.
The season will be highly unusual in at least one respect: there will be four divisions – North, South, East and West – and the entire game will be within them during the first two rounds of the playoffs to minimize travel and the potential for coronavirus to interrupt the season .
The Northern Division contains only seven Canadian teams: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. These teams would not have to cross the US-Canada border, which remains closed for non-essential travel until at least January 21.
The league is allowing the possibility to play on neutral sites, if necessary. Final details on where Canadian teams will play are pending until agreements are reached with federal and provincial health officials.
The NHL completed its last bubble season in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with players, coaches and staff isolated from the general public and tested for viruses daily.
As for the divisions, Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington and both New York teams are in the East; Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville and Tampa Bay are in the central region; and Arizona, Anaheim, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis, San Jose and Vegas are in the west.
Emily Kaplan of ESPN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.