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North Division Champion May Need To Adopt U.S. Home For Semis, Cup Final

March 4, 2021 at 9:06 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 9 Comments

While progress is being made against the spread of the Coronavirus daily, there are still concerns about the restrictions that may still be in place even months from now. Speaking on TSN’s “Insider Trading” on Thursday night, Pierre LeBrun expressed that there remain worries that the Canadian borders will still be closed in June. By that time, the NHL regular season will be over and the four North Division playoff teams will have battled each other and produced a winner. At that point, the Canadian team can no longer be separated from their American counterparts as they have been during the regular season. The team will need to play on the road in the U.S. as well as host an American team in the semifinal round as well as possibly in the Stanley Cup Final. If crossing the Canadian border still requires a 14-day quarantine, or really any multi-day quarantine, by that time then a playoff series cannot occur in Canada.

Of course, given the progress being made LeBrun hopes that Canada will have loosened its border policies over the next three months. Even if the COVID climate in Canada has improved to the point that the national and provincial governments are willing to make an exception and put together specific protocol for NHL travel, that would work. Otherwise, the only alternative solution that LeBrun has heard to this point would see the Canadian winner relocate to the nearest American city that would be a suitable home. While not an ideal option for the team or its fans, this would allow the series to occur normally. Selecting a close city would also require the least amount of travel for the Canadians and would make the logistics of setting up a temporary home easier. LeBrun notes that the league would likely have the cities for selected for each of the four North Division finalists when the postseason begins so to allow time to set up their new home.

While LeBrun offered Buffalo as the new location for the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, Minneapolis for the current second-place Winnipeg Jets, and an early introduction to the NHL for the city of Seattle in the event of an epic comeback for the Vancouver Canucks this season, that is where the easy relocations end. The closest American city to the Montreal Canadiens is Boston, an unlikely destination not only due to the age-old rivalry but also because the Bruins are a potential finalist and even opponent. Would Montreal also call Buffalo home? They could also move to a current or former AHL city like Portland, Manchester, Albany, Utica, or Syracuse. The closest potential home may even be Burlington, Vermont, home of of the University of Vermont. Montreal has options, albeit not without work to do. However, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are more difficult. The Alberta cities are not “close” to any American NHL or AHL cities. Seattle could be the best bet for these teams as well, if the arena is ready to go. However, Grand Forks, North Dakota, home to the University of North Dakota, made a strong pitch to the NHL to be a hub city for last season’s re-start and could make a similar offer to house the Oilers or Flames (or the neighboring Jets). Either way, the Alberta teams would be traveling quite far from home to close out the postseason. The plan would work, but surely the league and its Canadian contingent are hoping it won’t come to that when the time arrives in June.

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View Comments (9)
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Comments

  1. amk1920

    1 year ago

    If the conference finals are a 2-2 split of traditional west/east teams, the league should make them face each other. A Lightning v Leafs (random example) final would just feel weird.

    Reply
  2. MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend

    1 year ago

    Apologies for off-topic, but I’d like to send my condolences to the entire Gretzky family on the loss of their father, Walter Gretzky.

    Reply
    • itsmeheyhi

      1 year ago

      cringeworthy attention whoring

      Reply
  3. wreckage

    1 year ago

    Flames fire Ward.

    Darryl Sutter hired.

    Reply
    • MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend

      1 year ago

      @wreckage – As heard, post-game, on SN960 by me and a few thousand other surprised fans.

      Reply
    • wreckage

      1 year ago

      As still not posted on PHR yet.

      Just wanted it out there. The guys here seem to go to bed by about 9pm Mountain.

      Still no post about the patriarch of modern hockey. And no posts about the coaching shift in YYC.

      Aside from the 2 of us. They’re a little behind today.

      Reply
    • MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend

      1 year ago

      @wreckage – Hopefully, regarding the passing of Mr. Gretzky, they are writing a piece that includes contributions from all of the PHR authors.

      Reply
  4. The Mistake of Giving Eugene Melnyk a Liver Transplant

    1 year ago

    Considering states in the US have lifted mask mandates, get ready for this to get even worse!

    1
    Reply
  5. oneblankspace

    1 year ago

    Grand Forks is close enough to Winnipeg that several teams used it as a base during the 1999 PanAm Games, including the Brasilian Swim Team. They also hosted eight teams for the NCHC tournament earlier this month, and have had US vs Canada national teams play there as well.

    Reply

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