PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan)- In what was characterized as an "abundance of caution" in a statement released by the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday, nine players sat out the first day of training camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Monday.
Those players all had secondary exposure to someone who had tested positive for COVID-19. As of now, players are not made to quarantine in a hotel or shared space while participating in camp. Once they get to Toronto to actually play games in this new playoff format, however, they will be.
So should they be made to quarantine now? Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said over the weekend that he believes the league is not mandating isolation because the players will already potentially sacrifice months of time with their families and friends inside the Toronto or Edmonton "bubble" while playing games.
Colin Dunlap and Chris Mack of The Fan Morning Show debated this Tuesday morning.
"To me this is...there's going to be risks. Do you want sports or don't you? If you want sports, you're going to have to take some risks at least, probably, until you get to Toronto. And here we are. You try to minimize them as best you can. I just don't know if we can point to something that was done wrong," said Dunlap.
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Chris added that it's a matter of just being responsible.
"You have to trust these guys that if they are really all in on wanting to be a part of the completion of this season, and even if it means you're the fourth goalie or you're a way down the line black ace that might never see any action in the playoffs, you still need to be all in on, 'I need to play it as safe as possible. I need to live, before we get into the bubble, maybe I need to live my life kind of like I am in a bubble."
The guys say that it is tough to find fault because even if you are properly social distancing and wearing a mask, there's risk in even the simple things like getting takeout food or going to the grocery store.
But does there need to be more protection for the players?