All three teams will be completely closed until Christmas. Big names added to the “COVID list”. Matches postponed. The first duel behind closed doors. Teams that reduce arena tonnage …
The rise in COVID-19 cases in the NHL also continued on Friday. Popular players have been added to the list of players who have been forced to shut down due to COVID-19 (Reminder: Not all of these players may be infected, but may have close contacts).
Toronto Maple Leafs have listed forward names John Tavares and Alex Kerfoot on it. In Edmonton, the Oilers added the name Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, while in Washington the Capitals did the same with Niklas Backstrom.
Currently, all three teams are suspended until at least Christmas: the Calgary Flames, the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche.
In the case of the Flames, the decision is clear, as there are four players left who are not alone. “We have a very good team left to play three against three! Flames general manager Brad Trelewing joked in a video conference with Calgary media on Friday.
Despite the absence of five players, Avalanche played on Thursday, with everyone sidelined due to COVID-19. Among them: number one goalie Darcy Kumper and ultra-excellent defender Kale Maker. In the opposing camp, the Predators had to deal with those who were absent, especially with the supportive players, but also their coaching staff! So they took the lead Coaches Of the school club.
“It’s not good for hockey when we’ve lost five or six guys at one end. Whether we continue or stop depends on the league. It’s not ideal,” Jonathan Droin said after Thursday’s CH game.
Mild symptoms
In terms of health, it is fine, though. Flames Medical Director, dR Ian Ald, the majority of players do not have mild symptoms or symptoms. He revealed that four to six players were suffering from “moderate” symptoms, “cold, fever or fatigue”, “in 36 to 48 hours” hallucinations.
For his part, without going into the trellising details, the family members of the players also admitted to being infected.
DR Ald recalls, “With other variants, the transmission risk on the rink is much lower. With Omicron, we do not yet know the data ”. The doctor also clarified that all three cases of the team belonged to the Omicron variant. However, he did not receive all the results. “If all these were not our cases, I would say to myself that if there were three, there would definitely be more,” he admitted.
What is urgent?
Prior to the explosion of cases this week, athletes were openly skeptical about attending the Olympics. Connor McDavid and Alex Petrangel are skeptical that the NHL players will ever get a place if they ever go to Beijing. Before Thursday’s Flyers-Canadian duel, it’s Sean Couture’s turn, his position is not guaranteed, but who will be part of the talks.
“Not necessarily due to COVID, but with everything around [les Jeux] “, He said. New Brunswicker’s diplomatic deportation to Canada and the United States made him hesitant.” If we were there, who would we go to if we had any problems? ” […] Personally, it scares me. ”
In short, skepticism about the NHL’s presence at the Olympics is growing because of player fears or postponed games. Flames, for example, will have six to restart because they are already on break for a week. In the current calendar, duels are already scheduled until April 29th. We can expect the NHL not to start playoffs again in mid – May …
From a logical point of view, there are arguments that the NHL should ignore the Olympics. She has until Jan. 10 to declare without a financial penalty. If this scenario is confirmed, the time slot will be open from February 3 to 22 to reschedule meetings.
From a health standpoint, cessation of activity probably does not cause a slowdown in the progression of COVID-19 in teams. “I have been following the situation for months for Flames. I have never seen such a level of transmission,” D admitted.R Ald.
And from a financial standpoint, Thursday’s closed-door game at the Bell Center brought exactly zero dollars at the box office. Maple Leafs and Senators can only sell 50 percent of their tickets, with Canucks and Jets announcing on Friday that they will emulate them from next week.
Hockey shareholders are wondering what the NHL’s need is to move forward with games in the current context. Former Canadian Nick Cousins asked the question publicly on Twitter on Thursday.
We will know quickly if his grievances are heard.
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