As the Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving sees it, he’s between a rock and a hard place. Now that Phase 2 of the NHL’s re-start is underway, where does he hold his team’s training camp?
He’s already looked at the issue for “quite a long time” and “we’re well down the path,” Treliving noted.
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Why Would the Flames Want to Go to the United States?
The Calgary Flames have been looking at hosting their training in the U.S. because of the 14-day quarantine that is imposed by the Canadian government for those entering the country.
“We’ve been looking at that for quite a long time – we’re well down the path,” Treliving noted on Tuesday of this week.
The issue for him is complex: on one hand, as he states it, “I don’t want guys coming back to Calgary and sitting on their butts for two weeks in their condos and being out of shape when it’s time to go again. It may make more sense for us to have camp in the U.S. so we can have guys together quicker and being productive. The quarantine issue is a big one.”
On the other hand, “If we go do a camp now in the U.S. and all of a sudden we’re playing in Edmonton or Vancouver then we’re really hooped because the whole team is in the U.S. and has to quarantine for two weeks.”
As a result, he’s trying to play both ends against the middle, but that’s difficult as well. He’s worked out the logistics of holding a camp in the United States, if he feels he needs to. And, although he wants to get a head start, he feels his hands are tied.
Might the NHL Influence the Canadian Government?
The quarantine, although necessary and suits the best interests of the Canadian population, does not suit the best interests of the NHL. As a result, the NHL has been talking with the Canadian government to try to figure out how long the quarantine rule will continue to be applied or if there were a way (a plan to follow) the quarantine might be relaxed a bit.
But Treliving is pessimistic that the NHL will have much success. “Just watching and listening, I don’t think this quarantine issue is going anywhere. I’m at the stage where I just want to find out what we’re doing and then we can plan.”
Treliving isn’t the only person up in the air; that’s also true of the entire NHL – all teams. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly reported that, as long as the 14-day quarantine in Canada is in place, using Edmonton, Vancouver, or Toronto as a hub city for the end of the NHL season is simply off the table.
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So here the Flames sit (they’d rather be skating) waiting to face Winnipeg in a best-of-five play-in if the 24-team postseason tournament; however, they are up in the air about what the team can do – and that’s different about what the team should do. With “should do,” at least Treliving believes he would have choices.
Stay tuned Flames. We’ll try to update this situation when we hear more.
