Let’s get it back to hockey.

Unfortunately, our Philadelphia Flyers will not be participating in the NHL playoffs this season. They are currently sixth place in the temporary “East” division with 51 points.

Other teams will be going to the postseason, but apparently Canada is dragging ass on the COVID front, and by extension our northern front, according to ESPN:

The NHL expects negotiations with the Canadian government regarding travel across the border could extend through the opening rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“It’s going to be down to the wire,” a source with knowledge of the talks told ESPN, indicating a decision on the border may not be made until the first week in June.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin in mid-May. The opening two rounds feature teams playing within their divisions. Sources told ESPN that the NHL does not currently expect to implement playoff bubbles for the first two rounds, as it did last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the problem is that once they get through the opening two rounds, the division winners ultimately advance to a Final Four. So the Canadian winner is going to have to play an American team at some point.

As it stands, American teams can’t travel to Canada without taking on a quarantine period. But Canadian teams are allowed to come here, and that’s how you ended up with the following teams playing in the following locations:

  • Raptors – Tampa, FL
  • Toronto FC – Tampa and Orlando, FL
  • Blue Jays – Dunedin, FL
  • CF Montreal – Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Vancouver Whitecaps – Salt Lake City, UT

They’ve been stuck having to play here, losing out on home field advantage, and having to remain separated from their families for long periods of time.

The issue for the NHL is that, if these rules remain in place, the winner of the Canadian Division is gonna get dicked in the playoffs. If the Maple Leafs end up playing the Golden Knights, it might be two games in Vegas, two games at a neutral site, then Vegas/neutral/Vegas, if it goes to seven. They won’t have any home ice advantage at all, even though they’ve been playing in Toronto for all of their regular season home games.

It would just be weird if Canada, which loves hockey, ends up dicking over the Canadian team that makes it to the Final Four. And we want a real home/away series, for the purposes of parity and competitiveness. Canada has given us many great things over the years, like poutine and Rush, and we want that history to continue with a great 2021 NHL postseason.