The Montreal Canadiens, along with every other Canadian NHL team, just went through a season where they didn’t leave the country and also didn’t sell a ticket to their games.
Teams in Canada simply were not allowed to have fans in their arenas, until we got to the postseason where the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens were able to sell a small portion of their seats.
It seemed like things would be getting much closer to normal for the upcoming season, but the Bell Centre won’t look normal on opening night.
Usually, there would be a lengthy ceremony honouring the past greats of the franchise and a sellout crowd would loudly cheer for the newest iteration of their favourite team. That could be the case in 30 arenas around the NHL this season, but not in Montreal or Vancouver, at least to begin the year.
According to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, a memo was sent around to NHL teams and it shows that 30 teams will be allowed to have capacity crowds in their arenas. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks can only sell 50% of their seats and the Canadiens are only going to be able to sell 33% of their possible tickets.
In a memo the NHL sent out to teams today regarding fan vaccine and mask requirements, it says every building--except the Bell Centre (MTL, 33%) and Rogers Arena (VAN, 50%)--will be able to begin operating at 100% capacity. 1/2 @Sportsnet
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) September 23, 2021
There are different requirements and restrictions depending on the city a fan is in, but most teams will require fans to either be vaccinated for Covid-19, have a very recent negative test and/or wear a mask while inside the arena.
This puts the Canadiens at quite a disadvantage to begin the year. Every away game they play will be eligible to sellout their arena, but the Canadiens can only have about 7500 fans in the Bell Centre for any home game.
I suppose, just because the Ottawa Senators are eligible to sell more tickets it doesn’t mean they will definitely have more than 7500, but most away games will have far more fans in the stands than home games for the Canadiens. With the way rules and regulations change and then change back these days, it could be weeks or months before the Canadiens are finally allowed to sell their usual 21,302 tickets.