2020 has been a strange, frustrating year for a lot of people in the real world. Here in the toy section of the real world, the sports world, it’s been challenging as well.
The National Hockey League shuttered its 2019-20 regular season on March 12. The Calgary Flames were to play the New York Islanders at the Saddledome and that game didn’t take place. On May 26, over two months after the last regular season games had been staged, the league threw in the towel on the regular season and put all their focus on completing a 2020 post-season in front of zero fans.
If we’re being completely honest with each other, the reasoning for completing the post-season has always been pretty simple: money. Estimates are that not finishing the season at all would cost the league and its teams $1.2 billion in revenue and have a pretty significant impact on the salary cap going forward and on individual players via escrow.
In short: if it can be done safely, muddling through two months of hockey before zero fans in a quasi-quarantined bubble will be short term pain for long term financial and logistical gain. For the owners and the players, and ultimately the fans also, life would be easier for the hockey world if they can pull off their Return to Play plan.
Phase 1 of the NHL’s protocols involved players hiding at home, effectively. Stage 2 was outlined on May 25 and featured players skating in small groups, subject to limitations from local health authorities.
Section C of the Phase 2 protocols outlined testing (in the context of players and anyone with player access being tested 48 hours prior to interacting at team facilities, dependent on excess local testing capacity) and Section G outlined what happens if someone tested positive.
From Section G:
During Phase 2, anyone who develops symptoms (or if persons sharing a home develop symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19) shall immediately notify Club medical staff of such, shall self-isolate, and shall be medically evaluated by the Club’s physician(s), who shall consult with the Club’s infectious disease specialist to determine next steps, and administer PCR testing, if appropriate.In the event a Player is diagnosed positive for COVID-19 (or has a resulting and/or related illness), the Club Physician shall issue an Exhibit 25-A designating the Player as “unfit to play”, the Player shall be deemed to have sustained an illness arising out of the course of his employment as a hockey player for such period as he may be removed from training, practice or play, and his condition shall be treated as a hockey related injury for all purposes under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, unless it is established, based on the facts at issue, that the Player contracted COVID-19 or the resulting or related illness outside the course of his employment as a hockey player.
Teams will work with local health authorities on contact tracing positive tests, as well as inform the NHL (and NHLPA) regarding positive tests.
Phase 2 of the Return to Play protocol began June 8 by mutual consent from the NHL and NHLPA. On June 11, the NHL and NHLPA announced a target date of July 10 for Phase 3 (training camps), but check out the wording (our emphasis added):
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced today that formal training camps (Phase 3) for the 24 teams resuming play will open on Friday, July 10, provided that medical and safety conditions allow and the parties have reached an overall agreement on resuming play. The length of training camp and, therefore, the start date for formal resumption of play (Phase 4) will be determined at a future date.
If the players aren’t convinced that the reward justifies the risk, they can just scuttle the whole thing.
So far, 11 players have tested positive for COVID-19 out of over 200 players who have been tested (reportedly in Florida and Arizona) – we don’t know how many tests were conducted so it’s not prudent to speculate on positive test rates. Presuming that the 24 participating teams will each bring around 30 players to their camps, the total player pool involved in Phase 3 would be around 720. It seems inevitable that more players and staff will test positive, and ultimately it’s up to the NHLPA to determine if they want everything to move ahead or not.
