NHL players back to skating!

Players across the league are staying put at home, waiting for more information on what comes next in the current NHL shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some appear to be luckier than others. 

On Tuesday, Darren Dreger revealed on Insider Trading on TSN that some players are currently skating in Europe, getting ready to get the green light to pick up the action as soon as play can resumes. 

However, other players aren’t thrilled about this: 

“They’re skating in Sweden, a good bunch of them including Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. We should make it clear this [is] an NHL recommendation, it’s not a directive, it is part of the medical protocol. The local authorities, in this case in Sweden, allow for this type of activity, players are allowed to skate. I can tell you that there are some NHL players in North America who do not like the idea, given the competitive edge that you might see. What happens when these players are welcomed back to North America? No doubt about it, these players will be quarantined and there are some guys who believe that the players will also face mandatory NHL testing.”

This could complicated things for the return of players from Europe, especially if they are out skating during the pandemic. While some of us might be encouraged to see players getting back on the ice, this could mean the league needs more time to get everyone back in uniform.