Leafs goalie seeks more info before restart
Frederik Andersen wants to be back in his crease this summer.
The Maple Leafs goaltender would love nothing more than to try to help Toronto eliminate the Columbus Blue Jackets in the qualifying round of Phase 4 of the National Hockey League’s Return to Play plan.
Before that happens, however, Andersen is willing to wait.
“I don’t think we have enough information yet,” Andersen said on Tuesday during a Zoom call with media, referring to which way he might vote on a return to play given the health issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that must be taken into account.
“The PA (NHL Players’ Association) and the league are still ironing that out and then we will see. It seems like it’s the 11th hour here, so hopefully things will progress in the next week or so because the July 10 goal (to open training camp) is coming up soon. I’ll make that decision once I get more info.
“The whole thing in general has to make sense. Safety is very important and probably the most important. I want to play. I don’t want to just sit and waste a summer and a season.”
The NHL announced on Monday that 26 players in total have tested positive for COVID-19 since June 8, including 15 who have reported to training facilities for optional workouts as part of Phase 2.
Andersen, who has been back in Toronto “for quite a bit now,” had been staying with Leafs centre Auston Matthews in Scottsdale, Ariz., during the NHL pause, but said he was in California working out with his personal trainer when the state of Arizona recently saw a spike in coronavirus cases. Andersen wouldn’t comment on Matthews’ positive COVID-19 test result.