NHL Players Wisely Mixing Caution With Enthusiasm Before Return To Play

One emoji said what probably a lot of NHL players were thinking Tuesday.

That it came in a tweet from one of the league’s premier goal scorers and captains lent a gravitas to it (well at least as far as an emoji can have gravitas).

Just days after the NHL announced 11 players had tested positive for Covid-19 since June 8, and the Tampa Bay Lightning announced three players and multiple employees had tested positive, players had been given the green light to double the number of players that could skate in practice session during Phase 2 of the league’s Return to Play plan.

No one could blame the players for being cautious about the ramp up in activities and the increase of group size on the way to a schedule opening of Phase 3 and training camps July 10, and that’s why Lightning forward Steven Stamkos’ “think” emoji quote tweet resonated Tuesday morning.

While skating groups have increased in size, players have started to return to their teams’ cities and the NHL has reportedly narrowed its search for two hub cities to six candidates, there’s still the matter of approving all the Return to Play protocols and health guidelines. So far the NHL and NHLPA have handled the league’s three-month pause, caused by the coronavirus, cordially and cooperatively.

But players recent comments, including Stamkos’ tweet, prove that the NHLPA isn’t going to dive blindly back into action. Florida Panthers forward Brian Boyle was a guest on Hockey Central at Noon on Sportsnet in Canada, and he explained how he’s going to determine which way to vote when it comes time to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to returning to play.

“I think everybody is bending over backwards, from the ownership on down. As players, we like to stick to our routine so we’re already out of that. We’re not playing, we’ve been kind of in limbo. But I think as players we’ll do whatever is reasonable to play,” Boyle said. “We’re going to bend over backwards and do whatever we can to play. But I think a lot of guys are going to draw the line where if it’s too dangerous, it’s too dangerous, it’s not worth life and death, obviously.

“So you have coaches to worry about, GMs and medical staff and training staff and players aren’t invincible either. I mean this disease is a scary thing. Now it seems like less likely that we’d be really affected badly, but again, we think we’re invincible sometimes, but it has to be safe. And if we’re assured it’s safe, there’s all the proper things, then I think we’re going to do all we can to play. I think that will show up in the vote.”

The Boston Bruins were among the teams that revealed they had a player test positive. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk described knowing a teammate with Covid-19 as “eye-opening.” But he sounded confident the right steps are being taken while everyone learns how to handle serious situations in terms of stopping the spread of the virus and how to proceed as a team and a league.

“I try to realize the seriousness of the matter,” he said. “I think we were all kind of in the dark the first couple days, or first few weeks, of what was going on. You watch the news and you see how serious this whole situation is. You just want to make you’re helping to be a part of the solution and making sure you follow all the guidelines the CDC has put in place.”

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza, in a conference call with the media Tuesday, described his confidence as high that a safe return plan will come to fruition and a large number of his fellow players will vote for the final return plan.

Collective bargaining hasn’t always gone the players’ way, that’s why there’s a hard salary cap and NHL players didn’t get to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics. This time around the stakes are more serious because they literally could be “life and death” and, as much as all the players have ever wanted to do since they were toddlers is play, it’s great to see them approaching these negotiations and a possible return to the ice with equal parts caution and enthusiasm.