The league has targeted mid-January as a potential start date.
However, the Ontario Hospital Association today asked the Ontario government for a strict four-week lockdown in regions with high rates of COVID-19 positivity that would include Toronto, which is in the red-control zone of the province's colour coded framework.
Ottawa is currently in the orange-restrict category, which would be out of the request's scope.
Also, the mayors of Toronto and Mississauga, Ont., both said on Wednesday that they want a strict four-week lockdown to begin over the winter holidays to slow the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the GTA.