QMJHL's return to the Maritimes takes another blow

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's return in the Maritimes took another blow on Tuesday with more parts of New Brunswick being flipped into the red.

The entire province had already been turned orange, which meant the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats were not permitted to leave their respective zones. With the Saint John and Moncton regions both turning red, the return of QMJHL games in these parts seems destined to be even further delayed.

The league announced on Monday that all games involving Maritimes Division teams scheduled for this weekend have been postponed. The Atlantic bubble remains out of commission for the time being and, given the current case count in New Brunswick, it would seem we are at least a few weeks away from the bubble reforming (and that may be optimistic).

Without the Atlantic bubble in place, there are two major obstacles for the Maritimes Division returning to play: 1) getting exemptions from the provincial governments to allow cross border travel without quarantining and 2) if travel is permitted but fans are not allowed to attend, returning to play may not even be financially doable. The Quebec based teams have received financial assistance from their provincial government.

In a news release, the league said it "will continue its constructive dialogue with the three provinces to resume playing as soon as possible. An updated schedule will be published by the end of the week."

Officially, Saint John's next regular season game is scheduled for Jan. 29 in Halifax. The team has not played since Nov. 18.

The 12 Quebec based clubs will all play this weekend in "protected environments."