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A COVID-19 outbreak has sidelined seven Islanders and coach Barry Trotz sounds, at best, hesitant about the NHL’s participation in the Winter Olympics.
“We don’t know what’s gonna happen in two months. If you had an outbreak and you had a lot of stars out from the NHL for 2-3 weeks, it wouldn’t be good for the NHL,” Trotz said. “I think they’re gonna make the right decisions. They still have time and they’ll make the right decision when it’s needed.
“They’ll have all the protocols, they’ll have all the testing, they’ll be in the bubble, I think they’ll be fine. There’s different things around the world you gotta be conscious of. So you don’t wanna be there and not be able to play your best players.”
Trotz, an assistant coach for Team Canada, acknowledged that he was “in the moment” and didn’t go as far as to say the league shouldn’t participate in the February 2022 Games. But the Isles’ head coach stopped short of saying the league should stick to its plan of taking a nearly-month-long pause to send players and coaches to Beijing.
The Islanders aren’t the only team to have been impacted by COVID-19. The Senators had three games postponed due to an outbreak that affected ten players. The Sharks also had multiple players test positive, though they played through it.
If players contract the virus in Beijing, it’s unclear how long they would need to quarantine for, but it could be as long as three weeks. Human rights concerns about China – including tennis player Peng Shuai’s status, which could result in diplomatic boycotts – are reportedly of concern as well.
After not participating in the 2018 Olympics, the league and Players’ Association agreed it would do so in 2022. But it has until Jan. 10 to withdraw without financial penalty.
Mathew Barzal, who could make the Canadian roster, said he trusts the vaccines and science enough to not feel concern over going.
“It’s obviously unfortunate,” Barzal said. “You don’t want to see it happen, you don’t want to see it spread, but I think being vaccinated and all the science nowadays, I’m not scared of what’s going on.”
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