New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was one of the few players who stated that he did not want to get vaccinated before the season. He claimed that he was working through some medical problems, and this made it more difficult to make his decision. A few weeks ago, he neared a decision, before ultimately deciding to get the vaccine.

On Friday, Blackwood explained his reasoning for getting the vaccine, after questioning it for quite some time. One of the reasons he did it was for his teammates. He didn't want to be away from them or cause the team to miss games.

Along with this, Blackwood also did it for his family and friends. He wanted to be able to play in Canada this season and also get the opportunity to represent Team Canada at the Olympics. If he had not received the vaccine, he likely would have been excluded from the team.

Mackenzie Blackwood says one of the reasons he decided to get vaccinated was for his teammates, who he did not want to be away from and did not want to be the cause of missing any games. #NJDevils— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 29, 2021

Blackwood has yet to make his debut this season, but he is very close to returning and is likely about a week away from being healthy enough to play again. The Devils are currently last in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2-0 record.