Last season when hockey resumed after the pause, the NHL did things right. They had two hub cities, one in Toronto and one in Edmonton. Not a single player tested positive for the coronavirus, and not a single game was cancelled/postponed due to the virus.
The players and coaching staff stayed in restricted areas. Food was brought in, the arenas had an aggressive cleaning protocol between games, and players were tested daily. No one other then The NHL and arena personnel were allowed entry into the facilities. Those measures ensured that the risk of transmission would be zero or near it. The season resumed with the Round Robin then the Playoffs then the Stanley Cup Final.
This season was set up differently. Canada and the U.S. had their own divisions. Canada is the North Division, while the U.S. has the East, West, and Central Divisions. There was going to be an abbreviated training camp along with some scrimmages, and then the regular season would start. All players were scheduled to get tested and report to Training Camp.
The Flyers camp was short one man as Shayne Gostisbehere had tested positive for the virus. He eventually missed six games, and Travis Sanheim was added to the Covid protocol list after a game against the Washington Capitals. The Flyers eventually shut down their practice facility for 11 days after Sanheim entered Covid protocol to conduct contact tracing. Player after player were added to the Covid list: Morgan Frost, Travis Konecny, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Jake Voracek, Justin Braun, and Oskar Lindblom were all added to the list. The only Canadian players that were on the Covid list were Winnipeg Jets Pierre-Luc DuBois and Ottawa Senators Ryan Dzingle as both had been traded from U. S. teams.
Canada encourages people to be vigilant, and Canadian teams are told to only go out for practice, games and essential activities. They are also encouraged to use food delivery services. While on the road, Canadian teams are only permitted in their hotel rooms and the arena. The North Division has not postponed any games due to the virus. All the rescheduled games were from U.S. teams and were due to the coronavirus. Moreover, the U.S. is varied in their response to the virus. States have different restrictions that are not as strict as the North Division’s restrictions.
For instance, the East and West Divisions follow their respective state’s restrictions as well as whatever regulations of the state they traveled to. The flights and hotels come with a risk of transmission. Additionally, some players have girlfriends or wives, some players have children, some of the wives or girlfriends are also students or employed. Some of the children are school age, those activities, though essential, all come with an increased risk of transmission.
Hubs should have been put in place for the East and West Divisions. It is tough to be separated from family, friends, and loved ones but that sacrifice was made last season. In the end the results were dramatically different. For safety reasons, bubble hockey was better, and worked well without a glitch.
