Canadian division a goner

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This article was published 11/03/2021 (1960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don’t get too comfortable with the all-Canadian division this season. Despite its popularity, the unique realignment is likely going to be a one and done.

That was a key takeaway from Thursday’s Zoom availability with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly to mark the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 bringing pro sports to a screeching temporary halt and triggering major changes.

“We did what we had to do this year. We had no choice if we were going to play,” Bettman said of lumping the Winnipeg Jets with Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to get around pandemic-related protocols, which includes the ongoing closure of the U.S. border for non-essential travel.

And while it’s largely been a hit north of the border — Bettman said a survey of fans reveals approximately two-thirds have enjoyed the new look — it’s not expected to become permanent.

“I think our traditional alignment makes more sense and is more widely accepted,” said Bettman.

That means the Jets are likely heading back to the Central Division for the 2021-22 campaign, along with familiar foes in Minnesota, Nashville, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas and Colorado, and a new addition in Arizona. The Coyotes will slide over from the Pacific to make room for the Seattle Kraken, giving the league four equal divisions of eight clubs.

“I do believe that we may focus a little bit more on some more divisional play going forward, although I’m not sure this much divisional play would hold interest for an 82-game schedule,” said Bettman. “I know there are fans in the U.S. who’d like to see the Leafs and Auston Matthews, the Oilers and Connor McDavid. And fans in Canada who who’d like to see the Penguins and Sidney Crosby, and so on.”

Bettman is confident the next campaign will start on time, in early October, and offered up an optimistic outlook on what that might look like when it comes to fans in rinks.

“We can be pretty darn close if not fully at normal by the start of next season,” he predicted.

That’s not so much an issue in the United States, where 13 teams are currently having fans right now in reduced capacities, four more are set to open their doors in the coming days, and another two are getting closer to such a development. No such luck with the seven Canadian clubs, and that’s not expected to change anytime soon.

“The news on the vaccine front, at least south of the border, has been positive and encouraging. We hope we keep moving in the right direction,” said Daly.

Daly said he is in constant contact with both Canadian and provincial government and health officials, with a particular eye on mid-June. That’s when the first two rounds of the playoffs will be over, and the North Division champion will move on to the final four in the playoffs. Those other three will all be American clubs, making cross-border travel a necessity.

“It’s been a very co-operative and transparent relationship from the start. They’ve been very, very good in terms of responding to our inquiries and requests. We don’t always get the answer that we want, but we’ve had a very responsive relationship,” said Daly.

“We’ve got a little bit of time to deal with this. I believe there will be a process. I can’t certainly promise any result. But we’ll work through the process and see what the result is.”

Bettman interjected at that point, saying the NHL’s track record suggests “we have some credibility in terms of our ability to execute.” He noted they’ve played 521 games through Wednesday night over the past year— both in the Stanley Cup playoffs and this truncated new season — and completed 33,000 COVID-19 tests in the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles last summer without any positives. They also negotiated a CBA extension, new U.S. TV deal with ESPN and additional streams of advertising revenue.

“You always try to second-guess yourself, but I’m not sure what we could have done any differently or how we could have accomplished anything more,” Bettman boasted.

Most recently, the NHL got multiple outbreaks under control with players no longer in a bubble environment. On Feb. 12, there were 59 players in COVID-19 protocols, and five teams were completely shut down. On Thursday, that number was down to a season low of four, with everyone playing as normal. Daly cited the decision to tighten protocols on the fly, especially as it related to what players could do in their home markets.

“This made it very, very clear our expectation was players and team personnel would spend all their time either at their homes or the game or practice facility. They wouldn’t run errands, they wouldn’t pick up kids from school, they wouldn’t get dry cleaning or attend social interactions. We relied on our ability to cut off or reduce those interactions as a way to reduce what we were seeing,” said Daly.

“I give the players a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate and accepting that as necessary and making those adjustments and changing personal behaviour so that it’s reduced transmission of the disease.”

The subject of vaccines was also raised, and Daly admitted “a number of our players have already had access to the vaccine and have already been vaccinated.” He didn’t specify how many have got a needle, or in which markets, but the likelihood is they are entirely U.S. based.

“I can tell you with certainty no one on our team has had access to a vaccine,” a Jets spokesman told the Free Press Thursday.

Like everything with the pandemic, there are no guarantees on what happens next. Bettman said there are multiple issues still to tackle, including potential changes to the draft lottery and entry draft this summer, and Olympic involvement next winter.

“I’ve been accused of being a bit of a control freak, so having so many things out of our control isn’t my idea of a good time,” said Bettman, who has received both doses of the vaccine.

“It’s almost hard to believe we’ve all been at this for a year and we’re still not done. Yes, there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but this is not the time to let our guard down or reduce our vigilance.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg