As their COVID cases rise, the Red Wings will cease operations for at least the next week.
After the club had three more players and another coach placed in COVID-19 protocol Sunday, the NHL announced that the Wings have been shut down through the league's holiday break "due to concern with the number of cases within the last several days, as well as continued COVID spread."
That means the Red Wings' game at Minnesota Dec. 23 has been postponed, in addition to their originally postponed game against Colorado Monday night. The Avalanche are dealing with a COVID outbreak of their own. The earlier the Wings could return to action is Dec. 27 against the Rangers.
Per the NHL, "a decision on when the Red Wings' training facilities will re-open will be made by the League and the NHLPA in the coming days."
Forwards Sam Gagner, Pius Suter and Joe Veleno plus assistant video coach Jeff Weintraub were the latest members of the team to enter COVID protocol Sunday afternoon, a day after head coach Jeff Blashill, assistant coach Alex Tanguay, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and forwards Givani Smith, Carter Rowney and Filip Zadina did the same. Forwards Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen are in the protocol as well.
The good news, GM Steve Yzerman said Saturday, is that "nobody has experienced any significant illness in contracting the virus. It's nothing more, at this point, than a minor cold."
In fact, Yzerman questioned whether the NHL should be testing players who aren't showing symptoms.
"Now I'm getting political, but at the end of the day, our players are testing positive with very little symptoms, if any symptoms at all. I don't see it as a threat to their health at this point. So I think you might take it a step further and question why are we even testing for guys that have no symptoms," Yzerman said.
