Gary Bettman pressures Canada to end Covid restrictions.

The National Hockey League has remained largely apolitical when it comes to the restrictions local governments have put in place when it comes to the spread of Covid in the markets that host their teams, but this week NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sent a clear message that indicates this policy from the league may be changing rapidly.

The 2022 NHL Entry Draft is set to take place in the home of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal, Quebec, but that is currently a major problem for the NHL given that the Canadian province of Quebec has had some of the harshest restrictions in North America when it comes to their policies on Covid. Quebec has seen multiple lockdowns, limits on large gatherings, a vaccine passport and more and now the NHL is threatening to pull the draft out of Montreal if many of those restrictions are not lifted by July of this year.

Bettman issued a statement on Friday that took a hardline stance against the ongoing situation in Quebec.

"Some of our teams are not allowed to have people in the building," said Bettman via NHL.com. "Some are allowed to have 50 percent. Food and drink is an issue for patrons, or actually fans who are going to the game. ... The impact is devastating to the clubs that play in Canada, certainly from an economic standpoint and even from a competitive standpoint because they're not getting the home crowds when they play their American club colleagues that those clubs get at home."

Bettman even appeared to take a subtle jab at the government in Quebec for allowing people to gather in other venues while preventing fans from attending NHL games at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens home arena.

"We know the Canadiens have been in talks, because it has been extraordinarily painful to see them play in an empty building, particularly when, as I understand, people are going to restaurants and bars," added Bettman. "But I'm not going to argue and protest against what the governmental authorities have determined they think they need to do."

Bettman is not singling out the province of Quebec however and it sounds like all Canadian markets could be impacted by the NHL's evolving position on this matter. Bettman also indicated that restrictions across Canada have negatively impacted their franchises in Canadian markets and even went so far as to hint at the fact that Canadian teams could end up in a position where their home games would be hosted outside of Canada.

"That's how troublesome and devastating it is for the clubs," he said. "And it's not something that anybody wants to do, and it's not something we're actively encouraging. But it's something, if this continues much longer, we may have to let them consider."

There are millions of entertainment dollars involved here for local governments in Canada and this is no small threat on the part of Bettman. We know the NHL, a gate driven league, suffered huge financial losses as a result of the pandemic and that likely means Bettman isn't just making empty threats here. The NHL may even already have a contingency plan in place for their Canadian franchises should things continue to trend in this direction.