ICYMI: NHL urges European players to return to their teams.

NHL pushing ahead with its schedule.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
ICYMI: NHL urges European players to return to their teams.
Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports

The National Hockey League has issued a memo that can only be taken as a sign that the league is indeed ramping up its efforts to resume the 2019 - 2020 season. 

According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the league "strongly encouraged" players who need to have their work visas extended to return to their teams, whether that be in Canada or the United States, by the 21st of June. The move comes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulty that the pandemic has created in expediting visa applications for the NHL's athletes. Traditionally those players would have had the entire offseason to deal with the issue, however due to the rather large delay this current NHL season has experienced those players will still need work visas long after June 30th, when the league's "calendar" normally ends. The league urged players that "it is essential that you return as soon as possible to give your club enough time to process a renewal application on your behalf."

NHL camps could start as early as July 10th according to some reports and without a work visa there is simply no way the NHL would allow them to step out onto the ice. This of course explains why players were strongly encouraged to return but you can easily see a world in which several of the players impacted by this unfortunate circumstance would be disgruntled about having to return early. For starters traveling during a health crisis of this nature can not be pleasant, and for players returning to Canada they will be subjected to a mandatory 14 day period of self isolation for that very same reason. Effectively being forced to return as many as 19 days prior to training camp, and possibly having to spend 14 of those quarantined, wouldn't be an appealing prospect for any of us. 

Of course this problem will only get worse if the league fails to start on that proposed date of July 10th, there could still be delays related to the current global pandemic that the NHL has not yet foreseen. In that situation those players would be forced to wait even longer, and no doubt would be furious as a result.

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