Dr. Henry to review NHL’s plans for upcoming season over the ‘coming days’

Dr. Henry to review NHL's plans for upcoming season over the 'coming days'
BC Government/File
On Monday, Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer in British Columbia, said they have received the league's plans for the upcoming season and will be reviewing them with other health officials over the coming days.

The province’s top doctor says she will be examining the NHL’s plans for the upcoming 2020-2021 season in the days ahead.

Over the weekend, the NHL announced plans to start a shortened 56-game season on Jan. 13 after reaching an agreement with the player’s union.

However, before games can resume — at least in Canada — the league requires approval from health officials in the five Canadian provinces with NHL teams.

On Monday, Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer in British Columbia, said she has received the league’s plans for the upcoming season and will be reviewing them over the coming days.

“We are looking at this in detail and I have been talking with my colleagues across the country and we will be responding with our advice in the coming days,” she said, noting that the NHL and the Vancouver Canucks have a “proven record” in terms of their safety protocols.

The NHL — partly in response to COVID-19 restrictions prohibiting non-essential travel across the Canada-U.S. border — realigned its divisions and created an all-Canadian division called the North Division.

During the shortened season, teams will only play teams within their divisions and the NHL is hoping to have teams play games at their own arenas but is willing to relocate teams to a neutral site if needed.

The league’s plans for the upcoming season are vastly different from the format they used during its Summer restart, which saw teams play under tightly controlled bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto.

B.C.’s health minister, Adrian Dix, pointed out that the bubble system the NHL operated under during the summer, particularly during a time when COVID-19 cases were lower, was effective.

“As you will be aware, in a time of COVID-19 was less prevalent in our country and in our continent, had a bubble for its players that turned out to be quite successful,” he said. “They are proposing a different system on this occasion and our public health officers across the country are reviewing that.”

RELATED: NHL, NHLPA reach deal for 56 game season starting Jan. 13

Dix also said while he is grateful for the support the province has received from the Vancouver Canucks organization in regards to their efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted that there are other hockey leagues besides the NHL that are looking to resume play.

“There are many other people and many other leagues that play hockey and it is important that all of them be treated fairly in the process,” he said. “So this is not the case where there will be simply one standard for one group of individuals and one standard for another. This is a very serious time in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Both Henry and Dix did not provide a specific timeline as to when a decision would be made during Monday’s press conference, only saying that it would be in “the days to come.”

With files from The Canadian Press

Nicholas PescodNicholas Pescod

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