NHL eases protocols for vaccinated teams

The NHL is relaxing virus protocols for teams that reach a threshold for vaccination, just in time for the playoffs.

The changes are outlined in a memo viewed by The Associated Press that the league sent to teams and players Friday night. The new protocols take hold once 85% or more of the traveling party has been fully vaccinated. For a team with 56 members in its traveling party, 48 would need to be fully vaccinated.

“It could be really big, I think, just for the mindset of the players, more than anything, just to get back to some sort of normalcy,” Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Saturday. “The playoffs are a grind, just like this season has been, so any type of getting your mind away from it by being around the guys I think will help.”

The changes include loosened restrictions on indoor and outdoor dining, testing frequency and mask-wearing and quarantine requirements.

According to the memo, fully vaccinated individuals can dine outdoors or inside (in a private section or room with masked servers), visit each other’s hotel rooms, go golfing and have other social gatherings without masking or distancing requirements. They also won’t have to quarantine for potential exposure or be subject to testing on off days, and in some cases rapid tests prior to games.

“The only thing we’ve missed is those team bonding (meals), going out to dinner and kind of going to those smallgroup type things where you really get to know a teammate that way,” veteran Washington Capitals goaltender Craig Anderson said Saturday. “As far as meals at the hotels and whatnot, we still can kind of get together for the most part and it feels for the most part as normal as can be considering the circumstances.”

The league had maintained strict COVID-19 rules since the start of the season.