The Canadian federal government has approved a curtailment of the mandatory quarantine for NHL players entering the country from the United States. As a result, the compulsory quarantining period on entering Canada has been reduced to seven days. This announcement is particularly pertinent to the upcoming NHL trade deadline. The news was first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
It sounds like Canada’s reduced seven-day quarantine for NHL players acquired from U.S.-based teams will take effect later today.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 26, 2021
Seven-Day Quarantine for NHL Trade Deadline
In light of this alteration, any NHL player traded to a Canadian market will only have to wait a week before reporting to the team’s facility. Previously, the quarantine timeline was 14 days. Although, the approval comes with the added precaution of supplementary COVID testing.
Overall, the change in legislation will encourage NHL clubs to trade players between the two countries in the lead-up to the trade deadline. Teams have until 3 p.m. Eastern Time on April 12th to acquire players.
What This Means Going Forward
Before this announcement, the 14-day quarantine was causing a considerable deterrent for all Canadian markets with respect to trades. The major areas of concern were both the number of games a new player would miss and the effect a two-week break would have on their fitness. After all, teams trading for players at the most critical time of the regular season cannot afford for their acquisition to arrive unfit when the roster is in win-now mode.
However, thanks to the changes in quarantine requirements, this aspect now isn’t as concerning.
One example of a player, who has already crossed the border this season is Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dubois was acquired by the Winnipeg Jets, who sent Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic the other way in a blockbuster trade with the Blue Jackets. 22-year old Dubois had to quarantine for two weeks, missing six games in the process.
Moving forward, it is likely that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the busiest team at the deadline. They are top of the North Division on points percentage (.667). Although there is currently a log-jam in the playoff places with Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton separated by just two points.
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