Montreal Is Out

While it's not the hallowed ground that the Montreal Forum was, the Bell Centre in Montreal is a special place to play for a lot of players considering the history of the sport in the city. However, it seems that the lights will remain low in the arena for the considerable future after the province of Quebec announced today that all festivals and public sporting and cultural events will be cancelled until August 31.

Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx, Culture and Communications Minister Nathalie Roy and Education Minister Isabelle Charest made the announcement today after "considering the evolution of the COVID-19 situation in Quebec and the need to respect in particular the guideline of a physical distance of two metres for an extended period".

While we've heard that the NHL is still looking at ways to complete the 2019-20 season, this new mandate by the province would kill any chance of games being held at the Centre Bell until at least September 1. While some have suggested that the games could still be played in an empty Centre Bell, my guess is that the province would prevent that from happening to ensure the physical distancing is maintained by players, especially visiting players who traveled to Quebec.

While there is still an option for neutral site games that the NHL has floated, anything happening in Quebec is officially on hold until autumn. Montreal will not be hosting games of any sort until September, and that may stretch further depending on how the Quebec government proceeds in keeping its citizens safe. I'm not faulting the Quebec government here at all; rather, I want to applaud them for not relenting in their efforts to keep people safe despite the wishes of professional sports. There are bigger things than pro sports right now, and the health of everyone - sports fan or not - is one of those things.

If you've been reading this blog for the last few weeks, you know I've been calling for the NHL to just scuttle this season and start preparing for the next one. With Quebec stopping everything for the remainder of what would be this season, it makes only too much sense to walk away from the 2019-20 season and start preparing for next season whenever that may start.

I know the men running the league are stubborn, but with Montreal closing its doors to hockey being played at the Bell Centre I'm hopeful that this might be a bit of a wake-up call. If the NHL does push ahead with finishing the 2019-20 season, there will be no games played in Montreal this summer, so let's start using a little common sense and just cancel the rest of the lingering season.

Be smart. Be safe. Stay home. Cancel hockey. Do your part, NHL, like Quebec is.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!