All signs are pointing towards Edmonton being a host city for the NHL’s return-to-play.
Earlier today, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported “there is a real possibility that it can be all-Canadian hubs. That is Toronto and Edmonton.” According to a report from TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, it appears Edmonton is all but certain to be a hub city.
Really looks like Edmonton and Toronto for hubs cities. No big issues with the safety protocol, but you know how it is, the devil is in the detail. If the NHL and NHLPA have a CBA extension, we’ll have some hockey this summer. If not, it will be difficult. That’s my understanding
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) June 30, 2020
Look, this whole situation is a little confusing and definitely crazy. As McKenzie noted in his report, the situation is wildly fluid meaning things could change at any point.
But, once again, Edmonton appears to be a front runner. McKenzie is also reporting that the new CBA will need to be intact for the return-to-play to happen. I wrote about what that looks like this weekend.
While there continue to be active cases popping up in Edmonton and Toronto, the numbers in both cities are nothing compared to what has occurred in areas considered to be hubs in the U.S.
Alberta as a province reported 41 new cases Tuesday while all of Ontario reported 157 new cases. Alberta has 547 active cases while all of Ontario has 2,052 active cases.
In Nevada where Las Vegas has been reported to be a frontrunner as a hub city in the past, there were a reported 562 new cases on Tuesday alone. The virus appears to be wreaking havoc in the U.S., so it only makes sense that games could be hosted in Canada where case numbers are drastically lower.
Once again, this all could change at the blink of an eye but it appears more and more that games will be coming to Edmonton.
On Twitter: @zjlaing
