Panthers were poised to be represented in Olympics. COVID-19 is likely changing that
Two months from now, in a perfect world, Jonathan Huberdeau would likely be wrapping up his time in Beijing as the 2022 Winter Olympics draw to a close. If things worked out as expected, the Florida Panthers’ All-Star winger would make his way back to South Florida with a medal around his neck after playing on a loaded Canada roster.
But this is far from a perfect world and things are not working out as expected.
COVID-19 is running rampant through the National Hockey League. The NHL officially moved up its Holiday Break to begin Wednesday instead of Friday, postponing all team activities through Saturday. This came after nine teams (including the Panthers) were already shut down for the week due to outbreaks inside their organizations.
The NHL’s uptick in cases is also likely set to make an impact on the international scale.
In a Sunday press release, the NHL and NHL Players Association said they are “actively discussing the matter of NHL Player participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, and expect to be in a position to announce a final determination in the coming days.” The NHL has until Jan. 10 to make a decision without facing financial penalty.
The NHL had previously granted permission for its players to take part in the 2022 Olympics in February and added a three-week break in its schedule to accommodate such decisions.
Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad both have consistently been projected to Canada’s 25-player roster, and they’re not the only Panthers who under normal circumstances would likely be representing their home countries in February.
Center and team captain Aleksander Barkov was already named to Finland’s Olympic team. Rookie center Anton Lundell has been under consideration as well in addition to defenseman Markus Nutivaara (who has not played a game for Florida this season due to an injury at the end of training camp).
Sergei Bobrovsky has been projected to be one of the three goalies for the Russian Olympic Committee along with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin.
But players are expressing concerns after the International Olympic Committee said any athlete who tests positive for COVID-19 in China will need to produce two negative results 24 hours apart or else they could be subjected to a quarantine period in China lasting anywhere from three to five weeks.
“I think all the players are worried about that,” Huberdeau said last week. “You don’t want to stay there and be stuck in China. Obviously, it’s something we have to talk about.”
But in the moment, the Olympics weren’t Huberdeau’s primary focus when he made those comments.
He was speaking shortly after the Panthers’ morning skate ahead of their matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. Florida was down seven players due to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols at that point — a group that included defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Radko Gudas and Brandon Montour as well as forwards Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe Frank Vatrano and Ryan Lomberg.
“It’s about everybody staying safe and being healthy,” Huberdeau said Thursday. “Obviously it’s not easy seeing guys going into protocols.”
The Panthers played that game against the Kings with just 16 available skaters — two fewer than usual on game day. Four of the 16 were players called up hours before puck drop from the Charlotte Checkers, Florida’s American Hockey League affiliate. The Panthers lost 4-1.
Their season was shut down one day later and remains that way through at least the end of the week.
And before the league made the decision Monday night to fully stop play this week, it wasn’t just the Panthers. Eight other teams — the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and, as of Monday morning, the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets — have also been shut down until Sunday because of internal COVID-19 outbreaks of various degrees. All cross-border games this week had alrady been postponed as well — eliminating 12 scheduled matchups between United States-based teams and Canada-based teams.
The NHL has now postponed 44 games in December.
“Players will report back to their Clubs on Dec. 26, which shall be used for testing, practice and/or travel only,” reads a joint statement from the NHL and NHL Players Association released late Monday night. “Upon return from the Holiday Break to team facilities, no individual in the team’s Traveling Party shall enter the facility (other than for testing purposes) until they have a negative test result. Any practice scheduled for Dec. 26 must begin after 2:00 p.m. local time.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 1:05 PM.
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