Canada Bends Ban On Cross-Border Travel For NHL Playoffs

The Canadian government has altered its policy on cross-border travel to enable NHL players from the U.S. to head north for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

What Happened: Following the spread of the coronavirus to North America, Canada halted all nonessential travel since March 19, 2020. International travelers arriving in Canada are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period before they can interact with the wider society.

The Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadians are the two remaining Canadian teams in the NHL postseason and are now playing each other in the Stanley Cup Second Round, with the Canadiens leading 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The winner will play the victor of the Vegas Golden Knights-Colorado Avalanche series, which is now tied 2-2.

According to the NHL, arrival into and departure from Canada will be conducted by private jet, and all individuals involved will be subject to daily COVID-19 testing and a "modified quarantine bubble." The teams that playing in Canada will be limited to their hotel and the rink, with public interaction severely curtailed.

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Why It Matters: The pandemic forced the NHL to reconfigure the divisional alignment for this season, with a new Scotia North Division encompassing the seven Canada-based teams. All play was intradivisional among the NHL’s four divisions, thus eliminating the need for cross-border travel.

The NHL is enjoying an exception that other sports have not been granted. Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays and soccer’s Toronto FC, FC Montreal and Vancouver Whitecaps relocated to the U.S. for their respective 2021 seasons because of Canadian policy preventing nonessential cross-border travel.

The danger created by the pandemic has been dissipating in Canada, with the government reporting at least 60% of the population has already received at least one vaccine dose. However, the country experienced a third wave of infections earlier this spring and Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, is not rushing to ease up on public health safety mandates.

"As immunity is still building up across the population, public health measures and individual precautions are crucial for COVID-19 control," she said. "Thanks to measures in place in heavily affected areas, the strong and steady declines in disease trends continues."

(Paul Stastny of the Winnipeg Jets in practice for the team’s duel with the Montreal Canadiens. Photo courtesy of the Winnipeg Jets.)