Nordstrom back with B’s
In quarantine after coming back from Sweden
Joakim Nordstrom returned to Boston from his native Sweden about a week ago, but in some ways it’s like he’s come back from a different planet.
The Bruins’ forward had remained in Boston for two weeks following the March 12 coronavirus before making a quick decision — as airlines were starting to cancel international flights — to return home to the Stockholm area, as he and his girlfriend left behind everything but their dog and carry-ons. He went from a place where strict lockdown measures were put into effect here in Boston to his home country, which took a much more hands-off approach that led to relatively high infection rates.
While conceding there are debates to be had between the two approaches, Nordstrom, in a Zoom call with reporters in which he expressed his hopes and concerns for the NHL’s Return To Play plan, prefers the cautious one.
“I went into the city (Stockholm) once for lunch and it was like a different world coming from Boston,” said Nordstrom. “Here, you walk on the sidewalk and you’re meeting someone else and you’re really keeping the distance. You’re almost walking out into the street to be at least six feet apart. Back home, I could be a little frustrated that people didn’t really care about the social distancing downtown. We tried to stay away from the city as much as possible.”
Nordstrom isn’t claiming to have all the answers.
“That’s the tough part. I don’t know what the right approach is,” said Nordstrom. “For me personally, I don’t want to test positive, I don’t want the virus, so I think here in the states, or in Boston, precaution and how serious people are taking is (best). But I don’t know. It’s hard to say, how businesses are doing here compared to Sweden and the whole financial part of it, too. But here the respect that people have shown to everyone else and to the pandemic has been better.”
Nordstrom is in the midst of the quarantine he must wait out to enter the league’s Phase 2 (voluntary informal workouts). He’s been tested three times — all results negative.
He’ll be tested again on Friday and if it’s negative, he expects to be on the ice with some of his teammates at Warrior Ice Arena on Monday.
While he’s got natural reservations about returning to play, Nordstrom knows a good showing in the planned 24-team tournament could help his future earning power after a season filled with injury, infection and illness that hampered his performance. Had contracts run their regular course, his deal with the Bruins would be up at midnight on June 30.
Nordstrom said that the wait and uncertainty surrounding the return has been difficult mentally.
“It’s been tough because there hasn’t really been a date set since this whole time since the season was put on pause,” said Nordstrom. “You haven’t really been able to tell when we’re going to be back playing. Is it next week, is it going to be two weeks? (Training camps are tentatively scheduled to open July 10). So you’ve always been dialed in, at least I have. It’s also mentally draining. I wouldn’t say I’ve given up on playing. Not even two months ago. It’s been in the back of my mind that next week I could be back playing so you always have to be dialed in mentally. I think last month, or the last couple of weeks, we’ve been getting closer and closer. It’s been easier to visualize and put yourself in that position that we might be playing Stanley Cup hockey a few weeks from now, so I think it’s been a little easier the last couple of weeks. But then again, we don’t know. Is it going to happen? It is what it is.”
While there have been reports of mostly unidentified players saying they don’t want to return for this tournament, Nordstrom isn’t there. But he does have his concerns. “Of course I worry a little bit,” said Nordstrom. “This pandemic, this virus is new. I don’t think anyone knows for sure, whether you get really sick right away or what the long-term consequences are going to be. But what I can do is ... I trust our team, the Boston Bruins and the NHLPA and the league and all the doctors are taking all the precautions and making sure that we’re going to be as safe as possible. Of course I worry, but you can worry all you want. You don’t know what your future’s going to be, but I just put my faith into the doctors.”
Returning to play isn’t necessarily guaranteed to produce the best possible outcome for free agents, either.
“For me as a free agent this summer, what’s going to happen with free agency? What’s going to happen if someone gets hurt and the turnaround for next season is only a month and a half or two months and you don’t have a contract? What’s going to happen with your job. Are you going to get signed next year or not? Those are some concerns that I’m sure have been raised with the PA and I’m sure they’re going to have an answer,” said Nordstrom.
And like all players, Nordstrom still wants to know what life in a hub city will be like.
“How long are we going to be away from our families? That’s a concern I have. Is it going to be three months, four months that you’re in the bubble with no family? I don’t have kids, so I can’t even think how parents, the guys with kids what they’re concerned about,” said Nordstrom. “But I’m sure our representatives, the NHLPA and the league have a plan for that, too. But when you go into a bubble like that, a hub city, it’s going to be tough to bring someone in without quarantining. I’m sure if this happens and they’re allowed to come, they’ll have to go through the same process that I am right now with the quarantine and the testing.”
The scheduled start of training camp is less than two weeks away, and serious questions still remain.