Report: Toronto and Edmonton chosen as hub cities

According to multiple online reports, including a report from rock solid NHL insider Bob McKenzie, the Canadian cities of Toronto and Edmonton will serve as “hub cities” once the NHL returns to play.

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McKenzie’s counterpart over at Sportsnet, Chris Johnston, confirmed that Edmonton and Toronto will be the league’s hub cities and expanded on the reasons in his latest column.

Read below:

The NHL had hoped to restart its season with a hub on each side of the border until the vicious spread of COVID-19 across wide swaths of the United States made that plan untenable. Health and safety had been the stated priority since the league went on pause March 12 and the safest way to see things through led them here, after first failing to come to an agreement on contract tracing protocols with health officials in British Columbia to make Vancouver a hub and then seeing its plan to go to Las Vegas disintegrate when concern emerged in that city about the rising infection rate.

Knock wood, the spread has so far been limited in Edmonton and, to a lesser degree, Toronto.

The NHL’s restart plan would see tightly controlled bubbles created in both cities. Teams would be restricted to bringing 50 personnel apiece onto campuses at the Ice District in Edmonton and Toronto’s CNE grounds, including rosters featuring 28 skaters and as many goalies as each chooses, and every member of the travelling party would be subjected to rigorous testing and limited movement.

Interesting. I have to say… I think Toronto and Edmonton are excellent choices. Frankly, the idea of hosting games in a major U.S. city like Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Chicago was likely concerning for a lot of NHL players. Put politics or your personal beliefs aside and it’s hard to ignore the fact that Canada has managed the spread of COVID-19 much better than the U.S. Now, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t safe, responsible locations for the NHL to resume play in the U.S., but with Edmonton and Toronto being such good locations why bother looking elsewhere? Vancouver seemed to be a frontrunner, but the province of BC graciously bowed out after learning the full scope of the NHL’s expectations.

In any case, expect an official announcement from the league any moment concerning its two Canadian hub cities. Happy Canada Day!