The Canadian government approved a border travel exemption for the final two rounds of the NHL playoffs, immigration minister Marco Mendicino announced Sunday, allowing the North Division champion and its opponent to play a third-round series in their respective home markets.
“In addition to NHL’s COVID Protocol, NHL players and personnel will have to abide by all local public health rules,” Mendicino said in a statement to the CBC. NHL players and staff will travel into and out of Canada via private plane and be subject to daily COVID-19 testing.
The league’s seven Canadian teams have played the entire season in their own division due to the country’s closed border. The winner of the second-round playoff series between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens will face either the Colorado Avalanche or the Vegas Golden Knights in the semifinals.
Montreal led Winnipeg 2-0 entering Sunday’s Game 3, while Colorado led Vegas 2-1 entering Sunday’s Game 4.
Canada’s first NHL game with fans since March 2020 was played May 29 in Montreal, with 2,500 in attendance at Bell Centre. On Monday, 550 vaccinated frontline health-care workers attended Scotiabank Arena for the Canadiens’ Game 7 win at Toronto.
Canada shortened the quarantine period for NHL players from 14 days to seven in late March, ahead of the trade deadline in April.
This story will be updated