Manitoba

Winnipeg won't get hockey back this season even if NHL resumes: Jets source

Winnipeg won’t be seeing NHL hockey games in the near future even if the league does resume this season, a source with the Winnipeg Jets says.
Winnipeg Jets games ground to a halt on March 12, along with the rest of the NHL season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)

Winnipeg won't be seeing NHL hockey games in the near future even if the league does resume this season, a source with the Winnipeg Jets says.  

The NHL is considering bringing back hockey in a handful of cities — but Winnipeg is not one of the cities being considered, the source said.

The league is weighing using a format where the league would have multiple teams play in four cities with full professional facilities, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday.

"The particular location could be anywhere that isn't a hotspot and has everything we need in terms of the arena and having practice facilities, because if you bring in seven or eight clubs to a particular facility and you're playing lots of games on a regular basis without travel, there does need to be ice for practice," he said during a news conference. 

NHL hockey was put on pause indefinitely on March 12 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with 189 regular-season games remaining.

 

With files from Meaghan Ketcheson