The NHL is hard at work in Ottawa, trying to convince the government to make an exception to allow border crossings for NHL teams going back and forth between the US and Canada.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are well underway, with Monday night's seventh game in the Leafs-Habs series to determine who gets to face the Winnipeg Jets in the next round.
According to CTV News, the main issue is Canada's current requirement that people entering the country from abroad quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, which is obviously logistically impossible as far as the NHL playoffs are concerned.
According to anonymous sources, all pertinent authorities at the local and provincial level have signed off on the special exemption to the rules, and the next step will be to convince the federal Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino to agree.
Bill Daly, the NHL deputy commissioner, commented by email, "It's a work in progress."
The proposal for the exemption would require players and other NHL staff travelling with them to form a de facto travelling household bubble, and not interact with the general public at all during their time abroad/inside of Canada. They would be strictly limited to the airport, their hotel rooms and the venues where the games are to take place.
It is also reported that vaccination rates are very high among NFL players and other staff, and, in fact, the majority of them have now been fully vaccinated. This is considered to greatly minimize the transmission risk represented by an exception to Canada's strict lockdown rules.
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