SO MANY QUESTIONS FOR NHL
How to get Demko over border just one
Thatcher Demko tried his best to stay on script, but you didn’t have to probe too deeply to understand the frustration, the anxiety and uncertainty the Vancouver Canucks goalie is feeling.
That’s because everyone is facing some level of frustration, anxiety and uncertainty these days.
“Injuries included, this is the most time I’ve been off the ice since I was eight or nine,” he said Wednesday via Zoom from San Diego where he’s waiting out the novel coronavirus pandemic with his girlfriend. “It’s definitely an odd feeling. It can be overwhelming at times. You don’t really feel like you’re yourself.”
Lest you think we are being selective to support our thesis, here’s more Demko: “The weather’s good (in Southern California). If it was cold, I think we’d be losing our minds even more.”
Here was his response when he learned teammate Jacob Markstrom was skating in Sweden: “I was like, ‘oh my God, that’s awesome.’ I’d be in such a better mental state if I could get on the ice every once in a while.”
And this on what he might expect if and when the NHL returns: “I have no idea, right? I have no idea what it’s going to look like.”
If it’s any consolation, nobody does.
We know the NHL is pushing hard to resume its paused season. We know Vancouver is under consideration to act as a host city in a plan formulated by the NHL. We also know the weather in San Diego is pleasant this time of year.
Beyond that, we don’t know a thing. I mean, we don’t even know if Demko will be allowed to cross the border into Canada and you can say the same thing about the hundreds of NHLers residing in the United States, in Scandinavia, in eastern Europe.
And that’s just for starters. We don’t know about testing. We don’t know what will happen if there’s a positive test when play resumes. We don’t know if it will be a different game. We don’t know if players will be forced to wear full face shields.
No, we just have this thought the NHL will restart as early as next month. On Tuesday, league commissioner Gary Bettman told a crowd in San Jose cancelling this season is “something I’m not even contemplating,” and that solution would be “too easy.”
Right. And this restarting business is a piece of cake.
Take the border. Please. Next week, the agreement between the U.S. and Canada that bans non-essential travel between the two countries is set to expire. Great. That means players can come back to Vancouver, practise the ever-popular self-isolation for 14 days, then return to the ice.
The problem is there’s a lineup of public health officials who believe that isn’t the best idea.
About the time Bettman was speaking to Sharks stakeholders, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “We’re going to be very, very careful about reopening any international travel, including in the United States, before we feel that it is time.”
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said: “I do not want those borders open.”
And in B.C., superhero Dr. Bonnie Henry said: “I’m not going to compromise safety for an organization, whether it’s the NHL or anything else, as much as I love hockey.”
She then added Jake Virtanen needs more ice time.
This being the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there are more than a few layers to the border question. Dr. Henry’s boss, Premier John Horgan, is enthusiastically promoting Vancouver as a hub city. He’s talked to Bettman about this possibility. He talked to him again Tuesday.
“He (Bettman) was encouraged the province was supporting the initiative,” Horgan says.
OK, but B.C. adopted a patient, methodical approach to COVID-19 that has been instrumental in its success. This feels like a departure from that.
The Sharks studied how many people it would take to stage a game under current restrictions. You start with players and coaches and you’re up to 50. Then you add equipment managers, trainers and medical people. There’s hockey ops staff to consider, timekeepers and statisticians. The games are going to be broadcast so there’s TV and radio crews. And cleaners. And food handlers. And security.
All of a sudden you’re up to 300 people and that’s the bare bones.
We understand things are loosening up. The top soccer league in Germany, Bundesliga, is set to return this weekend. Arizona has announced that professional sports can return to the state this weekend. The PGA Tour is teeing up to resume in four weeks. The top rugby league in New Zealand will start about the same time.
So, against this backdrop, maybe it’s time for the NHL to get back to work.
You’d just feel better about it if they could provide some answers to all those questions.
It’s definitely an odd feeling. It can be overwhelming at times. You don’t really feel like you’re yourself.