If all goes as planned, the Canadian will only play five games behind closed doors.
Posted at 1:20 p.m.
Updated at 2:06 p.m.
The Quebec government announced on Tuesday that performance halls, including large ones such as the Bell Center and the Videotron Center, will no longer have to comply with the 500-spectator limit as of February 21. The two largest amphitheaters in the province will however have to be restricted to 50% of their capacity until March 14, which will nevertheless give the Habs the opportunity to welcome some 10,500 people in the meantime.
The five local games for the next two weeks, starting with Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, will therefore be presented in front of empty bleachers. In reality, 500 people will be present, but only in the boxes arranged around the ice rink. The team will then play three games in front of a half-full house and, if all goes as planned, a first full house would be possible for the March 15 duel against the Arizona Coyotes.
In total, the Canadian will have played 9 games behind closed doors. Last weekend, on the sidelines of the presentation of the all-star game in Las Vegas, the NHL commissioner also said that if the province’s health restrictions were not relaxed, the summer 2022 draft, which is to be presented next July at the Bell Centre, could be moved to another city. Unless there is another change to the program, everything indicates that the event can take place as planned.
In the short term, the main sports teams that will benefit from these relaxations are the Montreal Canadiens, the Laval Rocket, in the American League, the Trois-Rivières Lions, in the ECHL, as well as the 12 Quebec teams in the QMJHL. In addition, in soccer, FC Montreal will be able to play its match on February 22 against Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League in public. The match must take place at the Olympic Stadium.
This announcement is part of a package of measures unveiled by Prime Minister François Legault on Tuesday. These provide in particular for a reopening of the training rooms, first partial and then total. Restaurants and bars will also gradually regain their cruising speed.