Canucks schedule is about to feel the effects of B.C.'s time-zone change

The North American time zone map changed over the weekend, and it has already had a big impact on schedules for Vancouver sports fans.

As you likely know by now, B.C. did not change its clocks on Nov. 1, while most of Canada and the United States switched from daylight saving to standard time. Coming with that is a change in time for sports viewing for the next few months.

NFL Sunday now begins at 11 a.m., instead of 10 a.m., while Monday Night Football also begins one hour earlier, at 6 p.m. And this weekend, the Saturday night hockey schedule is being adjusted as well.

Saturday Night Hockey (formerly Hockey Night in Canada) has long begun at 4 p.m. in Vancouver, with the second half of the doubleheader going at 7 p.m.

That’s no longer the case for us.

Saturday’s Vancouver Canucks game in Edmonton begins at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, which is 9 p.m. in Alberta. That’s an inconvenient time for both markets, but something we’ll have to get used to for nationally televised games, home or away, until the rest of the continent switches back to daylight saving time on March 14.

Twelve of the next 26 Canucks home games will start later than 7 p.m., which is something we’re simply not used to in Vancouver. Fans watching from home can also now expect the potential for late starts in Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Vegas, all of which are now one hour behind B.C.

The new time zone map. (Accuweather)

But it’s not all bad news.

You can say goodbye to 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekday starts when the Canucks play in the Eastern Time Zone. Those games are now scheduled for 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., because Vancouver is now just two hours behind places like Toronto and New York.

Looking ahead, we’ll be watching the Grey Cup (Nov. 15 at 4 p.m.) and the Super Bowl (Feb. 14 at 4:30 p.m.) one hour later than usual as well.

So is this an improvement, or did you prefer things the way they were before? Let us know in the comments below.

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