NHL, players navigate details of return
The key word is optional.
When the NHL issued guidelines to the NHLPA on Sunday night for its expected transition to Phase 2 of returning to play next month, the overriding message was explicit: when the league opens its rinks, player participation is “strictly voluntary.”
That means that players are not required to return to the teambased cities and skate with their teammates. They can remain where they have been spending the past two months, and continue working out on their own, or with players from another team.
“We again emphasize that player participation in Phase 2 is strictly voluntary,” said the memo, obtained by Postmedia News. “Clubs are not permitted to require players to return to the club’s home city so they can complete a quarantine requirement in time to participate in Phase 2.”
Of course, after more than two months in isolation, who really wants to spend another month skating on your own? Well, it depends on where you’re living.
For players who are outside of the country they play in — either in North America or in Europe — staying put has the advantage of avoiding the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon crossing an international border. After all, there’s no point in rushing back if you have to spend two weeks locked inside again.
“Technically, they don’t have to come back to their facilities,” said player agent Dan Milstein. “I already have a number of (Florida-based) clients who are saying they’re going to practise in the Fort Lauderdale facility. I don’t see my guys going to their cities until later. One said he would go there on June 15.”
Another agent said the situation of transitioning into Phase 2 isn’t unlike when teams hold optional skates at the end of the summer. At first, it might only be local players who attend. But as it gets closer to the start of training camp, more players begin filtering in.
In other words, we might not see full rosters until the league decides on a date for starting the post-season. Even then, don’t be surprised if some wait until the first day of training camp.
“That’s a good analogy,” said Lewis Gross, who represents Toronto’s Rasmus Sandin and William Nylander, who are in Sweden and the U.S., respectively. “Everybody’s situation is different. You have to quarantine, no matter what. Rasmus has ice in Sweden ... so he won’t be coming back in the next week or so.”
Perhaps the bigger issue remains player safety.
Just because the league is preparing for Phase 2 and has settled upon a 24-team post-season format that will hopefully begin in July or August, that doesn’t actually mean the virus has abated. People are still contracting COVID-19 at an alarming rate. Going to the grocery store — never mind sharing a training facility with players and support staff — carries significant risks.
“I think everybody is anxious to get back,” said player agent Don Meehan, “but everybody is concerned over the safety regulations.”
“We have some vets who are concerned,” said Milstein, who has many clients in Europe, where the social distancing rules are different than in North America. “How are they going to get to the city where they play? Where are they going to eat? ... There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
Most players will take this cue from the league as a sign things are moving in the right direction. From there, expect a snowball effect.
Voluntary or not, hockey players won’t stay idle or isolated for long. As any hockey coach knows, if you want to give players a break from practice, the last thing you do is make it optional. Players don’t know the meaning of the word. All it takes is for one to start skating and soon enough the entire team will be out there.