NHL’S LIFE IN A BUBBLE
Players head to hub cities for playoffs
Gary Bettman called Phase 4 of the NHL’S return to play plan an “extraordinary involved and difficult and unusual circumstance.”
It was likely the understatement of the year.
As of Sunday, 24 teams will have moved into two hub cities — one in Toronto and the other in Edmonton — for an expanded post-season that will begin on Aug. 1. For up to three months, players will be stuck inside closed-off bubbles where they will eat, sleep and play hockey. If they’re lucky, families will be able to join them. Maybe they’ll even sneak out for a round of golf.
What will bubble life look like? Will the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers have home ice advantage? What happens if there’s a positive test for COVID -19?
Here are the answers to all those questions and more.
HOW BIG ARE THESE BUBBLES?
Pretty big, actually.
The Toronto bubble will technically be a couple of bubbles, with some aspects in the west end of the city and others in the downtown core around Scotiabank Arena. The teams will be split into two hotels, with practices held at the Leafs training facility at the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke. BMO Field, the home of the Toronto FC soccer team, will be used for outdoor recreational activities, game viewing and dining.
In Edmonton, the hub is more centralized around Rogers
Arena. Teams will be divided into four hotels, with practices held at Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre.
Each hub will have 14 restaurants, bars, pubs and coffee shops, as well as tennis courts, golf suites and movie theatres available to the players.
ARE PLAYERS ALLOWED OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE?
That depends on how deep their teams go in the playoffs.
For the first 14 days, players must remain confined in their spaces while quarantining measures are still in effect. But while the Ontario government hasn’t given the green light for any excursions, those sequestered in Alberta might be treated to excursions such as to play golf.
WHO ELSE IS IN THE BUBBLE?
Each team is permitted to bring 52 people, which multiplied by 12 teams gives you a total of 624. But the NHL is expecting more than 1,000 people to be living in the bubbles. Forty of those are on-ice officials, who all tested negative for COVID-19.
REFS WON’T WEAR MASKS?
No. But they’ll be using a hightech whistle that prevents excess spittle.
“We did take a little look at the electronic whistle,” said Stephen Walkom, vice-president and director of officiating.
“One of the things that we’ll be trying is a Fox 40 pea-less whistle, which we believe has the right trill for the players and as well takes a lot less force to use. The officials didn’t really want to use the electronic whistle.”
WHY IS EDMONTON HOSTING THE STANLEY CUP FINALS?
“I think mostly logistics and the amount of room we would have in the back of the house of the respective buildings,” said commissioner Gary Bettman.
“Both buildings are great, both cities are great, both hubs are certainly going to be much more adequate and going to be terrific, but we just felt that in terms of the needs for the Stanley Cup final, we would be more comfortable with the resources available to us in the end of the building.”
HOW WILL THE ICE HOLD UP?
Better than you might think. While heat and humidity might be an issue in August, the league believes it can keep the rinks colder than normal because they can now turn down the thermostat without giving the fans hypothermia.
“There will be no morning skates at either facility,” added Kris King, senior vice-president of hockey operations. “(With) 18,000 less people in those environments and with the ability to control the humidity, our guys are quite confident that the ice conditions will be ideal.”
WHAT HAPPENS IF A PLAYER TESTS POSITIVE?
Well, to put it bluntly, nothing. The NHL is expecting there to be positive tests. After all, an increase in the number of people means an increase in the chances of exposure. The real concern is containing the spread of the coronavirus, so that one positive test doesn’t mushroom and become multiple positive tests and cause an outbreak within the bubble. If that happens, the NHL will work with Health Canada to determine if the playoffs will continue.
“Obviously, we’re hoping that once we move into the bubble environment … it does two things,” said Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, the NHL’S chief medical officer. “It protects the public in the first instance and then it protects the people inside the bubble in the second case. And we don’t expect it to be perfect.”
WHAT WILL GAMES LOOK LIKE WITHOUT FANS?
With audio provided by EA Sports’ NHL2K for supplemental crowd noise and 12 additional cameras to help provide new visual angles, the actual broadcast might be an improvement over what the NHL has previously been able to do.
“It’s our goal to be able to show a hockey game in a manner that shows off the speed and you feel like you’re part of the game,” said NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer.