QMJHL games set to return Feb. 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's official: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League games are making a return.

The QMJHL announced Friday afternoon "the return to competition of its 18 franchises" on Thursday, Feb. 3. The league has been on pause since Dec. 18 due to COVID-19, making it the only major junior circuit to not start up after the Christmas break.

Only one of the league's four jurisdictions - New Brunswick - will allow up to 50% capacity in arenas, a change that begins Friday (Jan. 28) at midnight. The hope is that Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island soon follow.

Here are some more details on the league's restart:

• The league once again stated that it remains committed to playing its full 68-game schedule. The remainder of the regular season will be played between Feb. 3 and May. 1. The league's schedule was set to end on April 2, so a month has been added on.
• The league will release a new schedule on Monday. The Saint John Sea Dogs have had 15 games postponed. Even with a month added on, that is a lot of games to make up.
• The 12 Quebec-based teams will begin play with no fans in their buildings. Up to 500 fans will be allowed beginning Feb. 7.
• Nova Scotia teams will begin play on the road. Games are not expected to be allowed in Nova Scotia until Feb. 14 at the earliest.
• So what does this mean for the QMJHL playoffs? The league announced that the President Cup playoffs will begin May 5 and end no later than June 15. According to Stephane Leroux of RDS,  expect the first two rounds of the playoffs to be best-of-five.
• So what does this mean for the Memorial Cup? The tournament was originally scheduled for June 4-13 but, with the QMJHL playoffs possibly running until June 15, there's going to have to be an adjustment. "The schedule for the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia will also be released in the upcoming weeks," stated the QMJHL's news release. If the tournament follows the same scheduling format, it will likely run from June 18-27. But we'll have to wait for something official on that.
• Le Soleil notes that these moves will likely move the 2022 QMJHL Entry Draft into early July. The draft was scheduled to take place virtually June 17-18.
• Kevin Dube of le Journal de Quebec tweeted Friday morning that some players had expressed interest in heading to the United States if the QMJHL didn't resume play soon. You also have to think the OHL continuing to play in empty buildings was pressuring the QMJHL to do the same.

These times remain unprecedented, folks.