VANCOUVER – In a “normal” year, it would’ve been what those in the business call a greenlight night.
The Maple Leafs had escaped bitter late-November weather in Toronto and trounced the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 in California, with Auston Matthews’ bestie, Justin Bieber, rooting them on from the stands.
The only thing on the schedule the following day was sunshine and American Thanksgiving.
Seemed like a fine occasion to squeeze in a celebration and reward the hottest team in hockey with some free time.
Instead, the Maple Leafs moved safely and businesslike to the next town, San Jose. They hunkered down in a hotel together and ordered in turkey with all the fixings. No restaurants, nights on the town or days at the beach.
“I know on our team, we’re trying to keep it tight in every facet, no matter where we go. We’re trying to stay out of the public,” Wayne Simmonds said earlier this week, taking note of the COVID-19 positives in Western Canada.
“Anytime something like this happens, it could have a huge outcome on your season. So, you just want to minimize even a chance of it running through our team. So, we’re pretty on top of it.”
Until Friday, when captain John Tavares and Alexander Kerfoot joined the latest NHLers placed in protocol, the Maple Leafs had dodged the virus.
But it doesn’t matter how careful or cognizant the team has been of not throwing a wrench into a spectacular 20-8-2 start to its season.
The virus doesn’t care. You can “not do anything stupid,” as Simmonds put it, and still get touched.
“It sucks. It definitely sucks,” Simmonds said. “This feels like this has become the fourth wave now. I know NFL had something like 37 guys test positive in one day, and now our league’s being hit pretty hard by it. So, we got to be smart about it, and the league will make the right decision.”
Upon learning that Tavares and Kerfoot had been placed in protocol early Friday morning, the Maple Leafs cancelled Friday’s practice at the University of British Columbia for precautionary reasons.
Players and travelling staff were tested Thursday and will undergo additional testing Friday in advance of Saturday’s scheduled matinee against the Canucks.
The Leafs’ last stop was in Edmonton Tuesday, and the Oilers have had a steady trickle of players enter protocol, the latest being Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
They skipped Calgary Thursday, with the hard-hit Flames postponing a slate of games, and have been training for the Canucks, who are dealing with their own COVID absences.
When reporters spoke to Tavares Friday outside UBC at a socially distanced space, he said he’d been restricted only to the hotel and the rinks during the road trip and not eating out in public. A walk outside for some fresh air was allowed.
“We don’t want to be going backwards, but it’s the nature of the beast,” Tavares said, matter-of-factly.
A Team Canada hopeful, Tavares said he felt “a lot more uneasy than I felt a little while ago” about the NHLers participating in February’s Beijing Olympics considering the spread of positive tests.
The good news, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe noted, is that the vast majority of NHL players and coaches placed in protocol are asymptomatic.
“Since we came out west to Edmonton, I’ve haven’t left my hotel except for going for walks,” Keefe said. “Frankly, my priority right now is to get back to Toronto in time for Christmas healthy and safe. Get back to my family. I think everybody is like that.
“It’s even extra challenging being on the road right now, because I don’t want to be stuck here through Christmas. So, there’s lots of reasons to be smart right now.”
Problem is, even if you are being smart, you might still test positive.
