Ontario not ready to say when or if they will approve return for AHL teams

TORONTO -- Ontario is not ready to approve play for its two American Hockey League teams in the province, creating some uncertainty for a new five-team Canadian Division.
A spokesperson for Ontario sport minister Lisa MacLeod says the NHL is the only professional sport league allowed to play "in accordance with a return to play plan approved by the office of the chief medical officer of health."
The Belleville Senators (the Ottawa Senators' top farm club) and the Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) are slated to join the Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets), Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) and Stockton Heat, who have relocated to their NHL team's home in Calgary, in the Canadian Division during the 2021 season.
Teams will only play divisional games, preventing border restrictions from affecting action during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AHL season is set to open Friday, but no Canadian Division games are scheduled for the opening weekend.
Dakota Brasier, a spokesperson for MacLeod, offered no timeline for when AHL play could return on Thursday.
"Our government is monitoring the public health trends very closely, and while we are starting to see the bend curve in Ontario, it is too early to speculate on how and when further restrictions will be loosened," Brasier said in a statement.
Brasier added MacLeod will work with stakeholders across the sector to develop a safe reopening plan.
The Vancouver Canucks (Utica, N.Y.) and Edmonton Oilers (Bakersfield, Calif.) are the only Canadian teams with American-based AHL affiliates this season.
Related
- Ontario’s sport minister says NHL talks ongoing as league plans to announce schedule
- NHL teams not going to private restaurants in Toronto despite Ontario green light
- Ontario public health to weigh possibility of NHL restart as lockdown looms
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he hopes OHL can return with bodychecking
- Blue Jays can’t play home games after federal government rejects plan
Trending
- Police searching for missing 13-year-old girl last seen driving a car in Mississauga
- PHOTOS: A look inside a mass vaccination clinic in Mississauga
- Construction coming to busy GO Station and street to make way for Hurontario LRT in Mississauga
- Mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic opens in Mississauga
- Pearson Airport in Mississauga welcome 19 international and 13 domestic flights with COVID-19
Your Comments