National Post (National Edition)
MacTavish making most of his Swiss life
FORMER OILERS COACH'S TEAM CAUGHT IN MIDDLE OF COVID HOT SPOT
Craig MacTavish gets up every morning, looks out his window and sees the Swiss Alps. There's also a beautiful lake outside his door, a 25-minute boat ride from France.
So yeah, life is good aesthetically for the former Edmonton Oilers GM/coach/ VP of hockey operations who is in Lausanne, where the International Olympic Committee has been based for more than 100 years. He's coaching the Swiss National League team in the city of about 140,000 that is No. 1 in the standings but currently is in quarantine because his club has had two positive COVID-19 tests.
Switzerland has become a COVID-19 hot spot with alarm bells ringing — triple per capita the positives of Sweden and the U.S. and double that of other countries in the European Union. People are required to wear masks in all enclosed public spaces — train stations, airports and restaurants, and also in offices where six feet of social distancing can't be fulfilled. Bars and restaurants close at 11 p.m.
No more than 15 people are allowed at sporting events.
MacTavish's Lausanne team — which features exNHLers Josh Jooris, Cory Conacher, Brian Gibbons, Charles Hudon, Mark Barberio and Toronto forward Denis Malgin — has played 10 games with a 6-2-2 record. But Davos, Lugano and Geneve-Servette have managed just six because of the novel coronavirus.
“Right now we're in potentially a 10-day quarantine, all the players and the staff ... one of our coaches and a players got it. I've been tested twice in the last week and I've tested negative,” said MacTavish. “But right now I'm hunkered in, I've got groceries and I'm watching the Masters on TV.”
MacTavish is thoroughly enjoying his time in Switzerland, but because of COVID-19 “some teams are shut down, quarantined. Everybody's trying to be diligent. It's pretty bad in Switzerland.”
“At the start of our season, they were letting 1,000 people in, then 50 or 60 per cent capacity, then back to 1,000 and it's gone to zero. We've got a 10,000-seat rink and without fans, with their passion, there's a huge element missing. They take out the seats at one end in Lausanne and the fans are standing up, really loud,” he said.
MacTavish, who coached briefly in Yaroslavl in the KHL in the fall of 2019 after hopping back on the bench horse, is enjoying his time in Switzerland considerably more. “The KHL (style of game) is heavier, more trench warfare, but it's plenty competitive here,” he said.
In Switzerland, teams bus back and forth for games.
“The hardest part of the travel here is arriving because it's such a beautiful drive. The country is spectacular ... the buses are double-decker. The longest trip would be Davos where we haven't been and that's about five hours. But teams here still morning skate in their own rink, then get on the bus. Bit of food after the skate, then get some rest on the bus, then about 30-45 minutes outside of your destination we stop for coffee and cake and to stretch our legs. That's new for me, but I like it,” he said.
Lausanne, which is on Lake Geneva, reminds him of Kelowna. B.C.
“Only the mountains are more majestic,” he laughed. “But the lake is very similar.”
“Lots of great places to go ... (wife) Debbie and I went up to Zermatt on a day trip on the train to see the Matterhorn. No (combustion-engine) cars. Beautiful.”
MacTavish has taken advantage of France and northern Italy being so close. “I took a boat over to Evian one time and played golf at the course where they have the ladies (PGA Tour) event,” he said.
His Lausanne team is very strong. “Josh Jooris and another player Cody Almond (Minnesota Wild draft pick from Calgary) both have Swiss (playing) licences. Josh's dad played here and Josh started minor hockey here. Same with Cody. We also have Cory Emmerton who played in Detroit. Malgin is really good, and Hudon has a sense for offence, for sure.”
“The lifestyle's great, you can make decent money. It's a great venue for players who can't quite crack the NHL (as regulars). Makes a lot of sense,” said MacTavish.
Games in the Swiss National League are generally played Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. But COVID-19 cases have thrown things off. “The players don't get tested all the time but if somebody is feeling off, he gets tested and is off then everybody else does. Nose tests. Ten seconds of misery,” he said.
But that's the only negative of life of Switzerland.
This `n that: Oilers' possible fourth-line centre Gaetan Haas has had a very slow start with his old Swiss team Bern with just one point in his seven games ... Winger Tyler Benson has five points in six games for GCK Lions in the Swiss Hockey League, the second-tier loop there ... Farm team goalie Olivier Rodrigue has played three games in Graz in Austria with a .942 save percentage, stopping 98 of 104 shots. They're playing three different goalies.