The Ontario Hockey League has canceled its season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision Tuesday means the OHL will be the only one of Canada’s three major junior hockey leagues not to hold a 2020-21 season.
The league says it reached an agreement on a return-to-play plan with the Ontario government earlier this month, but a recently extended stay-at-home order and increasing cases of COVID-19 across the province made it impossible to have a season.
The league says the plan was to hold a shortened season in hub cities, a model used by some divisions in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
The QMJHL started its season around its usual date in October with Quebec teams staying in the province and Maritime teams strictly playing in their own division. The campaign was interrupted several times by COVID-19 outbreaks, but the league playoffs were to begin Tuesday night.
The WHL plays into early May, but it canceled its playoffs on Monday night.