Sports-starved Canadians from coast to coast are longing for the return of televised hockey as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.
But it’s doubtful any part of the country is pressing harder for the games to begin again than British Columbia. B.C. Premier John Horgan, a major sports geek who keeps a lacrosse stick by his desk, spoke this week to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a bid to get players back on the ice. “We had a wide-ranging discussion about our desire in British Columbia to support the NHL and the Vancouver Canucks,” said Horgan, who also reached out to the NHLPA, the players’ union.
The proposal: designate Vancouver as an NHL “hub city” and host made-for-TV games with no fans in the stands. Horgan said he told Bettman about the