In what has become routine, the NHL has issued another update on its COVID-19 testing within the bubble cities of Edmonton and Toronto. Just like the last two weeks, there were zero positive results among the 5,640 tests administered. All members of the remaining team’s 52-member traveling parties were tested daily between August 9-15.
With more and more teams being eliminated from postseason contention, securing the bubble should be even easier moving forward. So far the league has done an exceptional job keeping its players and staff safe and separated, though there is obviously still more work to be done.
As always, the fight isn’t over yet, but the NHL’s plan for return to play seems to be working perfectly.
Turns out that fans ruin hockey.
With fans, teams have to travel and the games are almost always in prime time to accommodate the fans’ work schedules.
Sans fans, we have games all day and the best hockey I’ve seen in a long time because teams don’t travel and the players are fresher (obviously, the 4 month layoff helped that, too).
And without fans in the stands, you have no NHL. ;)
But seriously, it appears pro sports leagues care first and foremost about their corporate sponsers, with actual fans being an afterthought. That mindset might work for the NFL or NBA in the short term, but it will kill the NHL. One look at the ratings for the NHL playoffs here in the states tells you how much this league needs full buildings to play in. (Hint, the ratings are lousy).
link to showbuzzdaily.com
Agreed. They’ve done a great job
So, guys, do you think Bettman forgot how to count fans who have been cooped up for 4+ months and have cabin fever to such a degree that they can’t wait to get out and go somewhere…anywhere? And, they have indeed got up and went. Except for those of us who can’t afford to. He also wasn’t smart enough to hammer into the obstinate sponsors that “hockey fan code” deals could mean increased business. Some have actually jacked their prices up and watched their revenue tank. Such a surprise, eh?
And, what would an NHL propaganda notice be without raving about no positive tests. I’m thinking they take temperatures with a temporal thermometer w/o batteries, too. See! No fever, either!
@Mac – There’s more than one reason why the league has lost some fans, but I’ll leave the politics out of it.
As far as how the league handled the covid angle of it, I give them mostly high marks for that (still think they should’ve had 4 hub cities, but whatever), but as I said awhile ago (and Rask said as much), playing without fans in the building is too much like a scrimmage. Players are doing their best to overcome that, but I would wager if they were given truth serum, they’d be screaming “get me out of this bubble now!”.
@Gbear – Could not agree more. Tuukka said out loud what we know, deep down, and what many other players believe, but who don’t want to rock the boat. It’ll be interesting to see if they plan on a 4-hub approach for next season, or they’ll bank on a vaccine that won’t have enough testing time to be proven effective for the bulk of the population. I hate seeing them trying to be NHL play-actors on ice, but the reality is such that much of the energy is drained from some games. Thankfully, not all games…yet…