Florida Panthers get back on ice, prepare to ‘march forward’ after COVID-19 pause
Practice at FLA Live Arena was all but over on Sunday, with Florida Panthers players casually taking shots at empty nets, and Andrew Brunette made his rounds to talk with players one-on-one.
The Panthers’ interim head coach stopped and chatted with just about everyone who had been missing or were limited the last time the team was together — most of whom were out at that point because of positive COVID-19 tests and a select few who were rehabbing from injuries.
It had been nearly a week-and-a-half since the Panthers were on the ice together. Their season was put on pause shortly after that Dec. 17 practice due to the team’s outbreak that had seven players in the league’s COVID-19 protocol. The NHL then put the entire season on a brief hold Thursday as an uptick in cases surfaced around the league. Teams were allowed back at their facilities Sunday. Games, as of now, are set to resume Tuesday. Florida’s next scheduled game is against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
While there is still uncertainty about how things will move on from here — the league has 64 postponed games to reschedule, NHL players are no longer going to the Olympics and the virus certainly isn’t going away anytime soon — Sunday’s practice felt like a slight return to normalcy if only for an hour.
“It’s a really different feeling right now,” Brunette said. “It’s good to be back on the ice, playing the game, feeling like a kid again. The excitement in seeing guys back — it’s been nine days since I’ve seen them — it’s fun.”
All seven Panthers players who were in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols when Florida’s season was paused — forwards Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Frank Vatrano and Ryan Lomberg as well as defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Radko Gudas and Brandon Montour — were on the ice for practice Sunday.
But four new players — forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Owen Tippett and Eetu Loustarinen plus defenseman MacKenzie Weegar — were added to the protocol list in the latest round of players moving on and off the active roster due to the virus.
Help is on the way on that front though. The NHL and NHL Players Association on Sunday night announced the return of taxi squads through the All-Star Break, the allowance of emergency call-ups as long as player is making no more than $1 million and the ability to add players to their active roster if they are below the league-used minimum at respective positions (two goaltenders, 12 forwards or six defensemen) due to the virus.
That’s news the Panthers appreciate, considering the circumstances they played under in their final game before they had four games postponed. Florida had just 16 skaters available — 11 forwards and five defensemen — in their 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 16, with four of those 16 skaters call-ups from the Charlotte Checkers, their American Hockey League affiliate.
“Any relief is welcome, believe me,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “It’s tough. You could have a situation where ... What if all your goalies get it? What are you gonna do? We’ve been through, as a management team, any number of scenarios surrounding the what ifs — maybe we’re kidding ourselves and what we should be thinking about the whens as far as who gets it and when. I haven’t had a chance to fully understand everything that’s gone on [regarding the potential roster protection and cap relief], but we’ll go through it technically and at the appropriate time take advantage of any help or assistance that we can get.”
For now, the Panthers are going through the motions, one day at a time, as they prepare for their season to pick back up. Games are on the horizon again barring a decision from the league to extend its current hiatus.
A chance to continue the team’s strong start will resume.
Florida went into the break third in the Atlantic Division with 40 points and an 18-7-4 record, trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning (44 points, 20-6-4) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (42 points, 20-8-2).
“I think the course of the next couple of days will dictate how rapidly we can get” back to some semblance of normalcy, Zito said. “It’s absolutely our hope. We’ll just have to see. ... But of course, our focus has to be on health and safety. That’s paramount for us.
“We have to march forward, but do so very carefully.”
At least for an hour, after a week and a half away, things felt normal at FLA Live Arena.
“The passion for the game is extremely high right now,” Ekblad said.
This and that
▪ Zito said goaltender Spencer Knight will re-join the team at practice on Monday. He was supposed to be in Sunrise on Sunday, but his flight from Charlotte was canceled. Knight was sent down to the Charlotte Checkers prior to the Kings game.
▪ Brunette said Aleksander Barkov remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury and there will be further evaluation for both Mason Marchment and Maxim Mamin about their availability for the Panthers’ next game. All three were on the ice for practice Sunday.
Other than those three, Brunette said at this point he doesn’t anticipate needing to hold out anyone else who practiced on Sunday should the Panthers play Wednesday against the Rangers.
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 5:18 PM.
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