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NHL, NHLPA announce COVID protocols for 2021-22 season

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Gurn Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Gurn

Posted
Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

Won’t he be suspended if he’s not vaccinated? Or did I miss something?

He can't play in Canada, due to our restrictions, but afaik the league, with NHLPA agreement, will only "suspend' players for games they miss due to this issue.

Since the rules are different in the states Tyler will be fine down south.

He will miss 9 games up in Canada, and forgo 9/82 of his yearly salary.

League is in a tough spot, with having players in 2 different countries.

 

From Vintage's original post:

"

The biggest news is a mechanism for teams to suspend unvaccinated players who are “unable to participate in club activities.” This includes situations where a player cannot travel because of local, provincial/state and/or federal regulations “upon return.” Such individuals would “forfeit the equivalent of one day’s pay for each day” they are precluded from participating.

 

It’s a major development considering the Canada/U.S. border and different rules/approaches across the NHL’s North American landscape. General managers were warned about this possibility at their virtual meeting in July and began informing players about the possibility.

 

There are exceptions — unvaccinated status based upon medical reasons; a conflict with “sincerely held religious beliefs;” establishment “on the basis of a balance of the probabilities,” COVID-19 “arised out of the course of employment as a hockey player;” or quarantine because of being a high-risk close contact.

 

If a fully vaccinated player is confirmed with a positive COVID test, his condition “shall be treated as a hockey-related injury for all purposes” under the CBA.

 

Unvaccinated players who are not exempted for the above reasons will not be paid if his team establishes, “on the basis of a balance of the probabilities, that the player failed to comply with the terms of this protocol in a manner that was reasonably related to his contraction of COVID-19 and/or any resulting or related illness.”

 

Other notable points of emphasis:

  • Any player who wishes to opt-out of the 2021-22 season because they are unvaccinated or fully vaccinated “but can establish that an immediate family member with whom he shares a household is at substantially heightened risk of severe illness by contracting COVID-19” can opt-out by Oct. 1. The team in question will then have 30 days to decide if the player’s contract will be “tolled” (basically rolling it over to 2022-23) or if this season would be removed from the agreement. Anyone opting out would not be able to play in another league or the Olympics.
  • Any person whose job, role, position or access entails or entitles them to have personal interactions (within 12 feet) of club hockey operations personnel (including players) must be fully vaccinated.
  • Fully vaccinated players shall be subject to PCR testing at least every 72 hours. That guideline could change depending on how things progress. Unvaccinated players will be tested daily.
  • There are stiff rules for unvaccinated players. On the road, they cannot enter “internal venues” other than the team hotel, practice facility, or game arena. They are not allowed to use the hotel gym, pool, sauna, steam room or other shared facilities. They are not allowed to have teammates, team staff or visitors inside their hotel room, with the exception of fully-vaccinated family. They are not allowed to leave the hotel to eat (or purchase food) or use any restaurants/bars (in or out of the hotel) that are open to the public. They can’t pick up food except where the restaurant provides curbside pickup (or similar service) that does not require entrance to the main restaurant.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhls-new-covid-19-protocols-include-mechanism-suspending-unvaccinated-players/

 

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-DLC- Canucks Hall-of-Famer

-DLC-

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Tyler Bertuzzi is the only unvaccinated Detroit Red Wings player going into training camp and faces the potential of missing all of his team’s games in Canada this season as a result, general manager Steve Yzerman said Wednesday.

 

Yzerman in his camp-opening video call said the rest of the organization is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including himself. Bertuzzi is in Detroit for the start of on-ice workouts Thursday but the forward may end up forfeiting over $450,000 in salary for the Red Wings’ nine games north of the border. NHL protocols allow teams to suspend unvaccinated players without pay when they are unavailable to participate.

“For the foreseeable future entering Canada, you can’t enter Canada unless you’re vaccinated, so that obviously will be an issue when we go to play Canadian teams,” Yzerman said. “Does that change or not? I have no idea. But as of now and under the Canadian laws, I guess, he wouldn’t be able to cross the border, so he wouldn’t play in any games in Canada.”

 

That includes Detroit’s first road game Oct. 23 at Montreal. The 26-year-old Bertuzzi will be allowed to practice with teammates but must wear a mask around the rink and distance himself when working out in the gym, in addition to other restrictions on the road.

Asked if he was disappointed in Bertuzzi choosing not to get one of the coronavirus vaccines, Yzerman said: “No. It’s his decision.”

“I’m not in a position to force anyone — we can’t force anyone to get vaccinated,” Yzerman added. “Tyler has his reasons, and I’m sure you’ll get a chance to ask him that question.”

Bertuzzi so far is the most high-profile NHL player to be publicly identified as unvaccinated as training camps open around North America. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly estimated the league would have only around 10-15 unvaccinated players by the time the regular season starts Oct. 12.Veteran defenseman Duncan Keith, who was traded from Chicago to Edmonton over the summer, is in quarantine until Oct. 1 after choosing late in the offseason to get vaccinated, Oilers GM Ken Holland said.

Holland said his team had one unvaccinated player that he did not identify and was not ready to commit to that player’s status for the season.

Others are taking a hard line on vaccination status.

The Columbus Blue Jackets did not invite unvaccinated forward Zac Rinaldo to NHL camp and earlier dumped an assistant coach who declined to get vaccinnated. New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello said he was in the process of figuring out what to do with his team’s lone unvaccinated player, with assignment to Europe among the options.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nhl/nhl-camps-open-as-teams-take-stock-of-unvaccinated-players/2021/09/22/c5fdd7f8-1bd0-11ec-bea8-308ea134594f_story.html

 

 

I understand everyone's right to choose....and support that.  Except those who choose to put others at risk are being selfish, for whatever personal reasons they may have.  In order to keep this thing contained as much as possible, it requires a joint effort and everyone to be on board.  Those digging their heels in really are dragging this out for the rest of us.

If we want to retain a sense of being back to normal, be normal.  Get the vaccinations required to give us a fighting chance here.

 

I'm glad the NHL and teams involved are taking a firm stance.  It sets the tone and doesn't compromise the efforts of those who are doing what it takes to make this thing go away.  (I know it's likely here to stay, but what I mean is in a milder form that isn't crippling healthcare units).

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mll Canucks All-Star

mll

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On 9/24/2021 at 5:13 PM, JM_ said:

does that include wives? 

Probably not, for any team.

 

Around the league there were players that did not necessarily want the vaccine but relented because of the salary cut and/or didn't want to risk infecting teammates.   Benning talked of how some players were harder to convince than others - it's possible that a player would agree given the restrictions but that the rest of his family decides against.

 

Players are tested regularly.  Daily for unvaccinated players and at least once every 72 hours for vaccinated players.

 

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