NHL to enter second phase of returning to play
The NHL announced Thursday evening it will enter the second phase of its return to play plan.
Halted since March 12 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the NHL will allow players Monday to begin working out voluntarily at team facilities in small groups involving no more than six players and a limited amount of staff.
In essence, these workouts will serve as involuntary skating sessions players engage in under normal circumstances during August and September prior to training camp. But there will be far more restrictions in place for these workouts.
On May 25, the NHL issued the guidelines for what is involved in the second phase:
• No contact will be permitted on the ice.
• Social or physical distancing of a minimum of 6 feet will be required.
• Aside from on-ice or off-ice training, players will be required to wear a mask while in the facility.
• No coaches are permitted on the ice.
• Off-ice activities are permitted, such as weight lifting (without a spotter) or resistance training, in the facilities.
• No players are permitted to skate at a public facility.
• The use of hot or cold tubs, saunas and steam rooms is not permitted during Phase 2.
• Only single-use beverages or food may be provided or consumed at the facilities. A team’s catering staff may provide prepackaged meals for consumption at the player’s residence.
• All players and staffers must undergo “laboratory-based RT-PCR testing” 48 hours prior to the initial arrival at the facility.
• All players and staffers must undergo a symptom and temperature check on a daily basis.
• Prior to the start of Phase 2, each franchise’s chief medical director or head athletic trainer must conduct a meeting, remotely, with players and staffers on the coronavirus as well as all the protocol involved in this phase.
• Any player or staffer who develops symptoms (or lives with someone with symptoms) is required to alert team medical staffers immediately and begin self-isolation.
• Players are discouraged from carpooling or using public transportation.
• Players from other teams who live within proximity of a facility may take the ice as well provided that host team permits it.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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