Normally, a trip to New York a few days before Christmas would be good news for just about anyone. For a romantic weekend, for a sports trip with friends, or simply to go see the Rockefeller Center tree, there is no good reason not to do without.
However, as we know, the month of December 2021 does not qualify for what was formerly called “normal time”. This no doubt explains the lukewarm enthusiasm of the Canadiens’ players on the eve of their departure for a four-day whirlwind trip during which they will play three games in Long Island, Manhattan and Newark.
All over the NHL, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc. More than 100 players have now adhered to the circuit “protocol”, which provides for the monitoring of infections and cases under observation. Five teams have announced since last Friday that they are putting their activities on hiatus at least until the return of the Christmas break. Voices are raised for a complete stop of the circuit.
The Canadian is no exception to the trend, although he is not as affected as some other teams. Back in good health after contracting the virus, Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku found their teammates on the ice on Sunday after more than two weeks of absence. Arturri Lehkonen and Cédric Paquette, on the other hand, were not there. The first was officially added to the COVID-19 protocol on Saturday. And the second was placed in preventive isolation while awaiting the result of a test. An update will be released by the team this Sunday at 5 p.m.
Rather than fly to New York on Sunday, as planned, the Habs agreed not to leave until 2 p.m. Monday, barely five hours before the start of the match. An unusual practice, but which will allow members of the organization to receive two rounds of additional test results before getting on the plane.
New York State, on the other hand, hit the 20,000 daily case mark at the end of the past week. The increase is also evident in New Jersey, where hospitalizations increased 62% in two weeks.
With family
Even if Brendan Gallagher insists that the players want to play the 82 games of the season, he does not hide the fact that the situation raises concerns among the players and that it is very present in the conversations between them. No one wants to be stuck in quarantine in a hotel room on New Years Eve, he said.
We understand that we have a job to do, but we want to make sure that everyone has the chance to see their family during the holidays.
Brendan Gallagher
A nuance is needed on this subject: as indicated by head coach Dominique Ducharme, the proximity between New York and Quebec would allow a member of the team with COVID-19 to return to the country by car . But Christmas would still go by the wayside, since the person would have to be placed in isolation upon arrival.
Gallagher is not “afraid”, however. “We’ve been living with this for two years. It shouldn’t affect our zest for life, he said. We all want to spend time with the family. ”
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, PRESS ARCHIVES
Brendan Gallagher
He would have liked, given the resistance of the Omicron variant to double doses of vaccine, the Canadian government to speed up the distribution of a third dose to the population. Because, he recalls, vaccines help slow hospitalizations.
But the worry doesn’t end with catching the virus. Because there is also, and above all, the very real risk of passing it on to loved ones. Contagion skyrocketed with Omicron.
Several of the players have children. The wives of some of them are pregnant. Chris Wideman has always just had a baby, said Samuel Montembeault. “Guys don’t want to risk bringing back [la COVID] in their family, added the caretaker. At Christmas, it can get out of hand and several people can catch it. ”
Telephone meetings between the Players’ Association and representatives of the 32 NHL teams were still to take place on Sunday to take stock of the situation.
Brendan Gallagher is not closed to the idea of ceasing the activities of the league for a few days if it results in all games being played in public. The CH played in a deserted Bell Center last Thursday.
“But I would prefer not to stop,” he said.
Ready to play
At the Canadian, we are still preparing to play. After all, until further notice, his next three games are still on the schedule.
After Saturday’s training was canceled as a preventive measure, Sunday’s lasted for over an hour. In particular, it allowed players recalled urgently from the Laval Rocket to acclimatize to the habits of the big club.
Samuel Montembeault was assured that he would play one of the three games of the trip. “If we go, I’m happy,” he said.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Samuel Montembeault
“We did what we had to do. There are so many things that are out of our control, you have to be ready to adapt all the time, ”said Dominique Ducharme.
The head coach recalled that the only thing he and his staff could do was to reinforce the importance of prevention.
Even if he considers “worrying” to see “what is happening around the world and in sport”, he remains “confident” in the NHL to ensure the safety of all its workers.
However, “the virus, we know it well, it is quite contagious”. With this in mind, “is it going to be possible to go through it completely without having new cases?” Ducharme wondered.
“It’s going to be difficult,” he concluded.