A look at some of the Florida Panthers’ COVID-19 policies and sanitation protocols
A few days before Phase 2 of the NHL’s return-to-play plan began last month, a line of cars filled the parking lot at the Florida Panthers IceDen.
The first wave of players had arrived in Coral Springs to prepare to take part in the small group workouts allowed by the league, so the Panthers did what so many others across South Florida have done on a larger scale since the COVID-19 pandemic began in march: They set up a drive-through testing site.
Dave DiNapoli and the rest of the Panthers’ training staff tended to the first group of players, including Noel Acciari, as they looped through the lot, spit in a vial and received instructions about what to expect for the next few days.
“There’s a lot of processes that we go through in order to make sure that safety is taken into consideration ... and then you get into a situation like this where the whole world just shuts down,” DiNapoli said in the second episode of team-produced documentary series “Panthers Uncaged,” which debuted Wednesday on the team site. “I don’t think there’s anybody on the face of the earth that thought that this was going to wind up being as debilitating to society as it was, but at the end of the day you’re dealt that hand and you’ve got to play those cards.”
The head athletic trainer’s plan was the focus of much of the second episode. His staff’s response let Florida move through Phase 2 effectively and start postseason training camp this week without any significant hiccups.
On Wednesday, coach Joel Quenneville said the Panthers aren’t currently dealing with any positive cases of the coronavirus as the team is now just a week away from departing for Toronto to enter a bubble and take part in the NHL’s expanded postseason.
“Organizationally here, we’re fine as far as what we’re talking about,” the coach said.
Florida’s precautionary measures are similar to those in place all across the United States. Everyone is required to wear masks inside the Panthers IceDen, and stickers are placed all over the floor to encourage social distancing and direct people around the practice facility.
Certain areas are cordoned off so personnel enter and exit their designated areas in one direction. The documentary showed images of workers in hazmat suits and gas masks sanitizing team facilities.
This week, the full team has all been in the IceDen together, but the start of Phase 2 limited the facility to allowing only six players inside at a time with no coaches in attendance. Everyone has their temperature screened with an infrared thermometer upon entering the facility, and players are tested twice a week using a saliva-based test rather than the more invasive nasal swabs.
“We’re using a saliva-based test, only because jamming a swab for a nasal type of test up a guy’s nose twice a week is not the most comfortable,” DiNapoli said. “I know our guys. They’re some of the toughest guys in the industry. It’s commonly known how tough hockey guys are, but I’ll tell you what: Putting one of those swabs up your nose is not comfortable for anybody.”
After the initial tests the week before Phase 2 began in June, players had virtual meetings with team doctors on the first day of the phase. Ultimately, the facility didn’t actually open until the third day of the second phase as the team made sure players were clear to reenter.
“It’s definitely different,” Acciari said, “just seeing all the arrows on the ground, what’s blocked off, one way in, you’re testing as soon as you get in the rink.”
Throughout Phase 2 and the start of Phase 3, Panthers players repeatedly praised the protocols and said they feel safe in the facility, particularly as COVID-19 cases climb across Florida.
Players expect to feel even more comfortable once they arrive in Canada, where case counts are lower and the NHL has said it plans to conduct daily tests.
“I commend the training staff for their process of complying to all the challenges that are faced with the players coming every morning and what they’ve got to do for the facilities, and the cleaning and all of the stuff they never had to worry about before,” Quenneville said in an appearance on WQAM’s “The Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz.” “Everybody’s done a good job of making it work and trying to be as ready as possible.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
