Interesting news from the Penguins’ last opponent, as the NHL fined the Washington Capitals $ 100,000 and added four players to the “COVID protocol-related absence” list.
The four players added to the list are all very prominent:
Travel protocol: Each member of the club’s travel company must stay in one room; no individual may allow guests or other staff into their room (except housekeeping / engineering staff, as required … while individuals are not present)
– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) 21 January 2021
Here is the Capitals statement on the matter:
As Japers Rink gives details:
The statement does build on existing reporting. It appears mainly that Ovechkin, Orlov, Kuznetsov and Samsonov were all at one stage outside the team-approved areas (presumably without masks). At this stage, however, we do not know if any Caps players tested positive for COVID, nor how long it will last.
As of Wednesday night, many remain unknown. What exactly did these players do, sometimes they get together in a hotel room in Pittsburgh – where they stayed from Saturday night until before the game on Tuesday? It seems pretty harmless enough as they are already stuck in a bubble together on team buses, planes, locker rooms, on the benches while breathing heavily and all the good stuff in long periods of time nearby.
But does this situation run deeper? Were there other non-players making up this heavy fine? How did the league even find out? Have any (or all) of these players tested positive to indicate that they have violated the procedures? All the answers to these questions are currently unknown or not reported.
The last question is probably the most important, as these players were in very close contact with the Penguins on Sunday and also last night. It would be a messy situation if it turned out that several players could possibly spread the virus to another team, if it comes to that. Which we at this point again are not sure if this is a possibility. Or is not a possibility.
An important reminder is that it just does not necessarily mean that a player has tested positive for the virus when he is in an NHL protocol.
Kind reminder that players appearing on the NHL’s COVID protocol list may be absent for a variety of reasons: an unconfirmed positive COVID-19 test, a confirmed case of COVID-19, isolation while presenting symptoms, contact detection or quarantine for travel reasons.
– Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) 15 January 2021
Through testing, we know from Wednesday that the Penguins currently have no players in the NHL’s COVID protocol, and it will certainly pay close attention in the coming days to hope that no further players from Pittsburgh (or Washington that it concerning) has been added to the list.
It also remains unknown how long the Capital players will be or how long until they clear the NHL protocol. The capitals will play in Washington next Friday. The Penguins also play the NY Rangers in Pittsburgh on Friday. The NHL had to postpone several games in the first week of the season.