Memorial Cup cancelled again

The Memorial Cup will not be awarded for a second straight season.

The Canadian Hockey League announced the inevitable on Tuesday afternoon, cancelling the championship tournament due to COVID-19. This year's edition was scheduled to take place June 17-27 - it's typically held in late May - in either Oshawa or Sault Ste. Marie.

From the CHL:

The Canadian Hockey League, in association with our three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has made the very difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Memorial Cup.

“The CHL is committed to the health and safety of our players, their families and billets, our teams, staff and officials, and the communities in which we play. That has driven all of our difficult decisions for the last year as we have dealt with this global pandemic,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie. “The decision was made based on the limitations on travel, border restrictions, and quarantining requirements that would make it impossible to produce league champions.”

The Memorial Cup is steeped in tradition and is one of the most difficult trophies to win in all of sport. The CHL looks forward to presenting it next season to the championship club that has earned the right to hoist it.

Further decisions regarding the timing and location of the 2022 Memorial Cup will be announced at a later date.

Last year's tournament, which was supposed to be held in Kelowna, was also cancelled to COVID-19. The 2022 edition will be hosted by a QMJHL city if the league maintains its current rotation - which was not confirmed in the news release.

The announcement comes as no surprise, sadly. Only the QMJHL has announced any kind of playoff format. The WHL's 22 teams have all started their seasons but the league has not committed to crowning a league champion. The OHL may have missed its window of opportunity to have a season - if there was a window at all.

Even in the QMJHL, things aren't looking too good right now. The league announced Monday that 24 positive cases of COVID-19 had been detected on the Gatineau Olympiques; there are seven active cases on the Quebec Remparts; and there are two cases amongst the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. The Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Rimouski Oceanic, meanwhile, remain in isolation.

The QMJHL said it stills plans to begin its playoffs for the 12 Quebec-based teams on April 23. Given how things are going in the province of Quebec, that may be pushing it.

Things are better on the COVID front in the Maritimes compared to Quebec but they are far from great. The reopening of the Atlantic Bubble has been delayed by at least two weeks until May 3 but could be delayed until May 10.

The QMJHL playoffs for the Maritimes Division teams are currently scheduled to begin May 4 with knockout games. First-round series are set to begin May 8.

Things change quickly in COVID times but, as of right now, it's not looking great for the President Cup to be awarded. We'll see.