AHL understands Dec. 4 start date may not be 'realistic'

When the American Hockey League announced in late July that it planned to begin the 2020-21 season amid the coronavirus pandemic on Dec. 4, it felt overly optimistic at absolute best. 

League president Scott Howson acknowledged just that while speaking with ESPN's Greg Wyshynski this week. 

"We're getting close to Dec. 4, and there's been minimal improvement as far as fan capacity," Howson said. "The virus seems to be getting worse right now. The borders are still closed. We'll probably be going to our Board in the next two to three weeks with another plan.

"The purpose is that maybe Dec. 4 isn't realistic. That our teams aren't ready to do that."

The border that divides Canada and the United States is officially closed to non-essential travel through at least Nov. 21 and likely won't open anytime soon. Earlier this year, Canada prevented the Toronto Blue Jays and NHL teams from traveling to and from the United States during league restarts. 

Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley recently said he believes the NHL season may not start until February, in part because fans throughout the two countries would not be welcomed to indoor arenas for games. 

"Quite frankly, we're not tied directly to what the NHL is doing, but because of the developmental aspect of our league, we can't be too far out of line," Howson explained about the NHL's primary developmental league. "We don't have to start the same day or weekend or week. But we've gotta be somewhat in alignment with them, so that when they get going, they have access to a player pool and their players are playing [in the AHL]."