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Kevin: NHL's Covid woes has some players rethinking Olympic participation |
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It was clear NHL players coveted the right to play in the Olympics as soon as owners decided they didn’t want the league involved any longer.
Olympic participation is a significant issue for players.
But we are going to see how deep the conviction is over the next month as they continue to ponder whether they should be heading to China for the 2022 Winter Olympic.
My belief is players will still end up going, unless we start to see a steady stream of NHL games postponed because teams are overrun by the virus to the extent the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders were.
What I’m hearing around the NHL is players have a growing concern about what could happen at the Winter Olympics.
The hope was that the COVID-19 virus would be under control by the time the Olympics were played. But all anyone has to do is look around professional sports leagues to know that is not the case.
The Covid-19 has a spread in the NHL, even though all but a few players are vaccinated. Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is one of the latest to enter Covid protocol.
LeBron James is among the players in the NBA Covid Protocol.
Some of the players have been asymptomatic and others have felt pretty crummy. Regardless of whether they have symptoms or not, their big worry is that they might bring it home to their children, spouse, parents or friends.
That brings us to China. Players are starting to think about what happens if the new strain of Covid winds its way through the Olympic Village? Theoretically, all athletes will be vaccinated. But that is spared the NHL in this season. We still have a couple of teams that have half-a-roster in protocol.
I’ve been hearing that any athlete who tests positive at the Game will have to be quarantined for a couple of weeks in China before he returns home.
That possibility alone is enough to give players pause.
Before we started seeing an increased number of Covid cases in the NHL among vaccinated players and staff, the potential Olympians were already concerned about the fact no family can accompany them to the Games.
Now that seems like a blessing.
At best, the athletes will have to deal with several inconveniences to play in the Olympics. From what I’m hearing, they will have restricted movements and must be masked at all times, even if they are among other vaccinated athletes.
At worst...well we don’t know exactly how this is all going to work. Plus, we don’t know how this latest strain (Omicron) will play out.
Players certainly understand that there is more concern today about Covid than there was at the start of the season. The NHL has asked teams to be more cautious. That meant means less freedom and no large gatherings. Christmas parties had to be cancelled.
Players didn’t like it when they had to play in a bubble, but players don’t want to see postponements. And they definitely want an 82-game schedule. That’s why you probably won’t hear too many complaints about exercising more caution.
“I think we have to balance as a group staying as vigilant as possible while also living,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.
But all of this added precaution in their dressing room has to have potential Olympians worrying more whether they are taking a chance to play in China.
Ultimately, I think players will choose to go. The Olympics remain a big deal for most players. There is something to be said about being an Olympian. But there is far more reservations about going than there were two months ago.
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