[Official] NHL Return To Play Thread (24 team play off, 15 team draft lottery)

[Hairy Kneel]

I read that locker rooms are one of the primary transfer points of covid  in hospitals. 

Hopefully they can have a negative air (neg-air) system pulling in fresh air constantly. I would think of even finding more locker room space to break up into smaller groups. Rather than one large locker room space. Shared space. 

[mll]

7 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

For me that's the only way it's feasible to human beings.

 

1. Live according to the law as you see it until testing.

2. Be tested, If pass go to camp

3. Play, or if fail be quarantined 14 days.

4. Once passing test rely on the bubble, as well as practicing moderate social distancing.

 

End of story.

 

It's all about testing at this point, and then adherence to the bubble. We're way beyond social distancing being a be all end all. Lots of these guys will be spitting and bleeding on each other in short time.

Testing is not fail proof though.  There are false negatives.  They are going to be spitting on each other and it might well be that a few are positive because they did not take all necessary measures to be virus free before joining the bubble.  

 

[Gawdzukes]

13 minutes ago, gurn said:

Perhaps it is the fact that not all 1200 people have been in Canada since the beginning of covid.

A bunch will be coming from Texas, California and Florida.

A bunch will be flying back from Europe.

Lots of possible cases.

 

Once in the bubble and they stay in the bubble the worry subsides; however I've still not seen confirmation that all the restaurant/hotel staff will be in the bubble or if they are going to their homes every night.

Yeah I'm a 100% on the bubble. Not sure where you're getting the info that people will be jet-setting in and terrorizing the town though.

 

I also heard these meals are catered. Am I amiss?

Edited July 3, 2020 by Gawdzukes

[DeNiro]

1 minute ago, mll said:

Testing is not fail proof though.  There are false negatives.  They are going to be spitting on each other and it might well be that a few are positive because they did not take all necessary measures to be virus free before joining the bubble.  

 

I would imagine they have to have more than one test before entering the bubble.
 

A series of tests over a week is unlikely to miss an infected person.

[Gawdzukes]

9 minutes ago, mll said:

Testing is not fail proof though.  There are false negatives.  They are going to be spitting on each other and it might well be that a few are positive because they did not take all necessary measures to be virus free before joining the bubble.  

 

It's not but that's obviously the plan and what we're going with as human beings. As well, they'll obviously include a wait period? lol, or no?

 

Also, can a test be done in less than 3 days. If so, the NHL can do it.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Gawdzukes

[DeNiro]

Right now will be the biggest risk for an outbreak as long as there’s still teams in places like Arizona, Florida, and Texas.

[Gurn]

7 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

Yeah I'm a 100% on the bubble. Not sure where you're getting the info that people will be jet-setting in and terrorizing the town though.

 

I also heard these meals are catered. Am I amiss?

How will all those players, coaches and support staff get to the hub cities? And those that were in Europe will be flying back to North America.

As I said-once in the bubble the worry subsides, but you have to get the people there first.

[Hairy Kneel]

2 hours ago, Gawdzukes said:

I don't know anything but my first worry is some lazy fringe staff member doesn't care about hockey and slips out for some drinks with friends and ruins it for everyone. Conceivably though the whole cleaning staff could be showered/washed, and then proceed to do cleanup with a mask, even if they brought in some fresh Covid. In that case they may be able to keep people clean even with Covid. I would have a staff Supervisor watching every move (never remove mask or touch face), and possibly have self contained breathing units for the tertiary people in the bubble.

 

Are there actually going to be cleaning staff quarantined in the bubble? Some people are so rich or too young to care about the logistics, or the care and dedication some people have to picking up their $&!#.

 

You have to remember there are no crowds so no seat, food service, food spill, walkway, or food area clean up. We're strictly talking about Ice, Benches, Change Rooms, Physio Rooms, and Media Areas. These would be your most trusted high level career employees, not some 17 kid serving you a corn-dog for $17.50.

 

I wonder what kind of staff that would take? 3 games a day = 6 change rooms, breakfast/meeting places, practice. I wouldn't put more than 2 in a room (probably one), 2 in a meeting place, and so on. I'd probably staff 12 people per day or less to be safe. Then there  is the Zamboni, and ice crew, janitorial, so another 4-10. If I had that contract I would be pumped to provide the best service ever. My people would be impeccable.

 

I don't own a cleaning company so someone else might tell me I'm out to lunch, which is OK. I just wonder what it would take to run a skeleton crew in a complex such as this. I've trained in big stadiums before where 5 or less people were running it on an off day.

I used to do asbestos removal. And I've used strict cleaning protocols.  I believe that is the only way to keep these games from turning into a cluster#$%.

The first couple of weeks will be the hardest.  Because of the higher number of people.  Thinking about it, it would be simpler if there are absolutely no visitors allowed. At these pay rates, even support services, I don't think anyone will mind. 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Hairy Kneel

[mll]

2 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I would imagine they have to have more than one test before entering the bubble.
 

A series of tests over a week is unlikely to miss an infected person.

To enter phase 2 it's one test 48 hours before.  For players coming from outside the country it's normally 8 day quarantine with 4 tests 48 hours apart.  Except it's possible to bend that rule by landing by private aircraft.  It looks like Vancouver made sure that players come in by private flight to avoid that 8 day quarantine.  Pettersson came in the past weekend and was on the ice 2 days later.  That's would not be allowed if he flew in commercial.  Fwiw the Wild have their players from Sweden in quarantine for 14 days - they flew in commercial and the Minnesota state rules are stricter than the NHLs.

 

At the early stage testing is not always sensible enough to detect the virus.  It's well possible that players are allowed in while being infected.  They will be regularly tested but there's nothing that is going to prevent them to catch the virus while in phase 2 and 3 between tests.  There will be more control in phase 4 as it's a bubble environment.  In phase 2 / 3 players can go out and about.  That's the concern that teams are having.  It relies on players understanding the issue and already adjusting their behaviours now.

 

[Gawdzukes]

@gurnlol, very carefully if you've heard the joke. still nothing compared to the numbers we've had. 1200 people as an exception will do nothing, even if they all had Covid it would barely matter, at one point Montreal was spewing out 400 a day. It's all numbers, especially when they get under the bubble. fear of an outbreak is unwarranted and close to nil

 

look at me, no punctuation, barely 

 

The thing people might not be factoring is these aren't college kids. They're flying in with a mask, and going straight to the hub for testing. You know you could even isolate for 3 days as you enter the hub. I think it's definitely 98% possible.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Gawdzukes

[DeNiro]

2 minutes ago, mll said:

To enter phase 2 it's one test 48 hours before.  For players coming from outside the country it's normally 8 day quarantine with 4 tests 48 hours apart.  Except it's possible to bend that rule by landing by private aircraft.  It looks like Vancouver made sure that players come in by private flight to avoid that 8 day quarantine.  Pettersson came in the past weekend and was on the ice 2 days later.  That's would not be allowed if he flew in commercial.  Fwiw the Wild have their players from Sweden in quarantine for 14 days - they flew in commercial and the Minnesota state rules are stricter than the NHLs.

 

At the early stage testing is not always sensible enough to detect the virus.  It's well possible that players are allowed in while being infected.  They will be regularly tested but there's nothing that is going to prevent them to catch the virus while in phase 2 and 3 between tests.  There will be more control in phase 4 as it's a bubble environment.  In phase 2 / 3 players can go out and about.  That's the concern that teams are having.  It relies on players understanding the issue and already adjusting their behaviours now.

 

I was talking about the tests done before entering the hub city. Once there the risk is lowered substantially.

 

As for Phase 2 and 3 there will be players that test positive, that’s inevitable. The challenge will be to make sure that they don’t spread it to their teammates. That will be up to teams to have thorough sanitization and strict measures to limit contact (smaller groups, more separation etc.) 

 

Of course it’s up to players who could still be careless. But as long as they maintain the teams guidelines the risk of infection should be low. As for players in Florida, we should all be praying for them.

 

 

[mll]

3 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I was talking about the tests done before entering the hub city. Once there the risk is lowered substantially.

 

As for Phase 2 and 3 there will be players that test positive, that’s inevitable. The challenge will be to make sure that they don’t spread it to their teammates. That will be up to teams to have thorough sanitization and strict measures to limit contact (smaller groups, more separation etc.) 

 

Of course it’s up to players who could still be careless. But as long as they maintain the teams guidelines the risk of infection should be low. As for players in Florida, we should all be praying for them.

 

 

They go from phase 3 to phase 4 without a break.  Players are going to be tested regularly as soon they enter phase 2 but they can still catch it between tests in phase 2 and 3.  There's no control over what a player does away from the rink.  He might be negative and catch it the night after training with the team.  For example on the last day of phase 3 a player can go out and party and catch the virus a few hours before entering the bubble of phase 4.

 

[Gawdzukes]

20 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I was talking about the tests done before entering the hub city. Once there the risk is lowered substantially.

 

As for Phase 2 and 3 there will be players that test positive, that’s inevitable. The challenge will be to make sure that they don’t spread it to their teammates. That will be up to teams to have thorough sanitization and strict measures to limit contact (smaller groups, more separation etc.) 

 

Of course it’s up to players who could still be careless. But as long as they maintain the teams guidelines the risk of infection should be low. As for players in Florida, we should all be praying for them.

 

 

If you read the Panthers play in bio and most notably Barkov's comments he says they're all dialed in. Even as far as social distancing goes. Sorry I tried to find it but it was buried in NHL.com somewhere. Basically he said it was hard but they all are 100% committed to safety, which is needed for society, and to win.

 

He said it will be hard not socializing with the team in between but they have to do what it takes to win. He's the Captain.

 

For myself, if a couple goofballs associate and then spread it, it means there are a bunch of goofballs on the team, and you were seriously not capable of assimilating an assault for the Stanley Cup. with my unpracticed medical degree I would anticipate stupid behavior will get nipped in the bud ... or kill the whole playoff. I'd be willing to bet though that Bettman and his people will have this down to a science and it will be a spectacle for the whole world.

 

The thing people have to realize is that this isn't the real world. Players will be tested every game and not hide any sickness. Chances of spreading are small to none in my humble opinion.

 

And if they do just quarantine the hotel like a zombie apocalypse. Us humans have a great game plan for that right?

Edited July 3, 2020 by Gawdzukes

[Hairy Kneel]

It's like Jurassic park, you have to contain all the variables. 

[Gawdzukes]

@gurn i read the Finland players came in on a chartered flight. I could imagine extreme precautions taking place that we don't know of for all of these people. Perhaps even an RCMP chaperone?

[WHL rocks]

8 hours ago, mll said:

 

That's not going to happen.  Players are going to live in a bubble and are not going to be allowed outside that bubble until their team is eliminated.  

 

They are apparently even going to build a 2 block wall around the rink, the JW Marriott and the Sutton.  Players will have access to a golf course that will be shutdown some days for them.  They have arrangements with several restaurants in town that will deliver food on order.  They will apparently also lock down some restaurants that will become exclusive for the NHL - they will reach there by shuttles operated by the NHL.

 

So like I said they won't be locked in hotel like jail. Block of 2 block area tbey can go for walks or jogs. They'll be outside. 

 

What about coming in contact with restaurant employees or golf course employees. How sbout people who cook their food at restaurants that will ne blocked off to public..Are all this people working at those facilities and their families going to be quarantined?.. 

 

News media report things in order to educate and control thinking of viewers. Chris Cuomo had covid was claiming to be quarantined in his base ment away from his family on CNN every night... Until one of his neighbours cought him walking outside with his wife and children..

 

Just the way things work..

[WHL rocks]

6 hours ago, bree2 said:

so Edmonton is not going to follow the guidelines set out by the federal government? not to be rude but Edmonton if as you say is in normal mode, then why is there a uptick  in cases in the past week or so? the League has agreed with the federal government  and sorry but there will be a bubble for the players and workers.  the players want to be safe!!!

We all follow guidelines. But there are so few cases here that as far as I can see most people are living normal lives. Restaurants and cafes are open.

 

Gyms are open. What else do you need to know how normal things are here....

 

Buses and trains have lots of people on them. I went downtown on LRT... McEwen station where the rink and hotel is.. lots of people walking around ... dont see people wearing masks...

 

Any ways well see how it goes.. I'm in that area often I'll update you guys when things get rolling. 

 

Even media has reported that NHL executives don't belive players will be locked up in hotel and that will go out  breaking protocol.  They're not in jail.. they can't be forced to play a game and then lock up in their rooms 20 hrs a day.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by WHL rocks

[Nuxfanabroad]

13 minutes ago, WHL rocks said:

 

 

Even media has reported that NHL executives don't belive players will be locked up in hotel and that will go out  breaking protocol.  They're not in jail.. they can't be forced to play a game and then lock up in their rooms 20 hrs a day.

Sounds kinda like the Beatles with the Hard Day's Night/Help period. All players should study(movie videos) the Fab 4's tactics on evading screaming hordes & viruses.

[luckylager]

Just read about the CBA negotiations for return to play/ future cap etc and this dozy stuck out at me. So, it's not exactly going back on the Luongo rule, but pretty much. Gotta love those crooked bleeping bleepstains.

 

• Players aged 35 and over can sign multi-year deals that are flat or ascending and there will be no cap hit if they retire before the deal is up (previously, the cap hit stayed no matter what).

 

[DeNiro]

3 minutes ago, luckylager said:

Just read about the CBA negotiations for return to play/ future cap etc and this dozy stuck out at me. So, it's not exactly going back on the Luongo rule, but pretty much. Gotta love those crooked bleeping bleepstains.

 

• Players aged 35 and over can sign multi-year deals that are flat or ascending and there will be no cap hit if they retire before the deal is up (previously, the cap hit stayed no matter what).

 

Well technically it would not have affected the Luongo deal since he signed his before age 35.

 

The contract term limits and how much salary can go down from year to year will still be in place.