NHL Needs To Set Standard For COVID-19
The New York Islanders are struggling on and off the ice. The Islanders are currently on a eight-game losing streak and have still yet to win a game at UBS Arena. Off the ice, the Islanders are recovering from a COVID-19 outbreak. However, it took until the eighth positive test for the NHL to finally postpone two of Islanders games against the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. Therefore, the NHL should set a standard for how many COVID-19 cases will trigger the postponement of games.
Background
The outbreak started when Josh Bailey went into COVID-19 protocol on Nov. 16 Three days later, Anders Lee and Ross Johnston went into COVID-19 protocol. Then on Nov. 20, Andy Greene and Adam Pelech missed out on the opening of the new arena along with Bailey, Lee and Johnston. Kieffer Bellows and Zdeno Chara also contracted COVID-19. And finally, Casey Cizikas – plus three staff members – tested positive, prompting the NHL to finally postpone two games.
The NHL’s Dilemma
The NHL has a very difficult task organizing the schedule of 32 different teams while trying to limit the spread of COVID-19 during a Winter Olympics’ year. Plus, the NHL has two new TV deals and wants as many games to be played on national television as possible.
But that does not excuse the damage the NHL did. The NHL’s main mission is player and fan safety. However, the NHL felt the Islanders were safe to play hockey games with seven people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the organization.
As we have discussed in previous articles at Drive4Five, this was unsafe, unfair to the Islanders and risky to other teams. The NHL should have stepped in.
There Must Be A Standard
The Islanders are the second team this season to have their games postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The Ottawa Senators also had two games postponed after 10 players contracted the disease. However, similar to the Islanders, the league waited to postpone games.
If the NHL wants this league to be as safe as can be, they need to set a standard how many COVID-19 cases there needs to be to trigger postponement of games – and not draw out a process that could put the league, players and fans at risk.
Hi, my name is Jack Kobil. I am currently attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC. I am a huge Islanders fan and I love to share my passion for this team.
