Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Though the complete update came in late, here is the list for today:
Boston – Jake DeBrusk*
Edmonton – Kyle Turris
Los Angeles – Olli Maatta
New Jersey – Will Butcher
San Jose – Marcus Sorensen
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
Although a new name was added to the CPRA list today while none were subtracted, the NHL is still operating at a low number and have avoided any team-wide breakouts for weeks now. The few cases at a time in recent weeks seem to be limited to isolated infections or, in many case, false positives. The last Boston Bruins to enter the COVID Protocol, Charlie Coyle, was found to be the victim of a false positive and was back in action after just two days. The injury-plagued Bruins expect and hope that the same will be true with DeBrusk.
*denotes new addition