Toronto refined its bid as Vancouver’s effort floundered, but the NHL may not be sold on Toronto's planGETTY IMAGES
The NHL has “started to go deeper in its conversations" with both Edmonton and Toronto following Vancouver taking itself out of contention to serve as one of the league's hub cities, as it is "important" to the league to have a presence in Canada, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. The provincial health authorities in Alberta "have signed off on the plan for the NHL," so it seems that Edmonton has an advantage over Toronto. While Las Vegas appears safe as one of the two hubs, L.A. and Chicago "remain in the mix as potential standbys" should neither of the two Canadian bids work out ("Insider Trading," TSN, 6/25). In Toronto, Kevin McGran notes the city "refined its bid" as Vancouver’s effort was "going off the boards." Toronto is "centering on housing the players" on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. However, the league apparently "wasn’t impressed" with Toronto's plan (TORONTO STAR, 6/26)
VANCOUVER OUT OF THE MIX: TSN's LeBrun reported Vancouver's bid was "derailed" due to "complications when it comes to conversations with provincial health authorities in British Columbia" ("Insider Trading," TSN, 6/25). In Vancouver, Patrick Johnston writes B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix was "emphatic about the provincial government’s support for the Canucks’ plan to be one of the two hub cities." Dix said that the same "stringent protocols that have helped control COVID-19 during the past three months in B.C. is exactly the reason why the NHL should have wanted to play in Vancouver, not a reason to look for other jurisdictions that might have a more lenient approach." The NHL reportedly had been "looking to see if it might be able to get a waiver of some sort from B.C.’s positive-test protocols" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 6/26).
NO TRAINING CAMP QUARANTINE: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that the league and NHLPA "are not considering putting teams in quarantined 'bubbles'" during training camp, which is set to begin on July 10. The AP's Stephen Whyno reports players instead are "being instructed to stay home when not at the rink, with the hope that frequent testing and health protocols will prevent any outbreaks before, hopefully, games resume" at the hub cities. Maple Leafs C Jason Spezza said, "I'm pretty confident that once we get into hub cities, we'll be able to do a good job of keeping it out. I think getting there is going to be the challenge, and that's where it takes a little bit of discipline for us as players to make sure we don't kind of derail the plans" (AP, 6/26).
