The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced a number of players will not take part in practice on Friday "out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with NHL Covid-19 protocols." This marks the second team to announce issues just six days away from the official start of the regular season.
According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the full list of players includes forwards Emil Bemstrom, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Max Domi, Nick Foligno, Nathan Gerbe, Liam Foudy, Mikhail Grigorenko, Boone Jenner, Mikko Koivu, Eric Robinson, Alexandre Texier, as well as defecemen Vladislav Gavrikov, Seth Jones, David Savard, Andrew Peeke and Michael Del Zotto.
Earlier Friday, it was announced the Dallas Stars would not practice at all. The team can't say anything, but the assumption is it has something to due with COVID-19.
This is somewhat worrisome given how close the start of the regular season is. While most teams will not be allowing fans to attend games, players will still be travelling around their respective countries to face opponents in their home arenas. Positive COVID-19 cases could put a real damper on the NHL's hopes of conducting a 56 game season.
During training camps, all positive tests for COVID-19 will be handled by the league and not individual teams. The NHL has yet to make an announcement on either of these issues.
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