Finally Some Leadership

With it being Day 51 since the NHL shut itself down as a result of the current pandemic that has the globe in a standstill, I have been in the camp where not finishing the 2019-20 season makes more sense than trying to force something to be done that will face all sorts of obstacles and potential problems. Even the best scenarios that the NHL has presented for finishing the season are fraught with a potential opportunity for an outbreak among teams and players, so I can't see any purpose in risking anyone's health for a few meaningless hockey games when there are hockey fans attached to ventilators, in intensive care units, and fighting this virus in quarantine away from family and friends. Simply put, the NHL needs to be a leader here and trying to end the 2019-20 season should be the last thing anyone is discussing.

However, I am here today to give a nod and some credit to the NHL for saying things that no other league has mentioned yet when it comes to their plans to finish this season. While other leagues might have these conditions on their seasons, the NHL seems to be the only one to date to even have mentioned these specific conditions.

What conditions, you ask?

"We're going to need to have access to testing, and we're going to make it a point that we're not accessing testing, even in a private way, if testing availability is an issue in the community," Daly told 630 CHED in Edmonton as reported by Nick Cotsonika on NHL.com. "We will not test asymptomatic players ahead of symptomatic people who are unable to get tested. It's just something we will not do."

That, hockey fans, is leadership. That's looking at the bigger health picture and realizing that hockey isn't that important in the grand scheme. It takes some intelligence and humility to step back, look at the bigger issue, and admit that hockey, while an important escape from many, doesn't allow an out when it comes to suffering from COVID-19.

If testing the symptomatic people in a community is a problem already whether its due to lack of tests or testing facilities, the NHL is doing the right thing here in saying that those who need tests should get them ahead of asymptomatic NHL players. This is common sense, and it's something the NHL seems to have a hard time employing when conflicted with the pride in finishing this season.

On top of that, Bill Daly also addressed concerns voiced by players about being away from their families during this difficult time, saying, "We don't expect them to be isolated and away from their families for a four-month period of time or a three-month period of time or even a two-month period of time. We understand the importance of kind of family interaction, and we'll find a way to accommodate that."

That accommodation wasn't expanded upon in the conversation, but it seems the NHL is listening to its players. There have been positive reports about NHL-NHLPA harmony during this pandemic, and it seems, based on Daly's comments, that the NHL is listening to its main business partner in trying to restart and finish this season. I don't know this means for the future of labour negotiations, but harmonious relations are always better than the alternative so that's something to build on as the two parties move forward.

What I do know is that, for the first time since this whole shutdown started 51 days, the NHL has finally shown some humanity in its position. While I still feel that finishing the 2019-20 season is a mistake when there's a whole new season with a whole slew of new problems to address before training camps even assemble, the NHL has finally shown that below the hardened exterior of its profit-driven, revenue-seeking business there exists a heart.

I feel confident in saying that we can use more of that heart and the leadership shown above in these uncertain times.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!