Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - As the Buffalo Sabres hit the ice for practice for the first time since Feb. 1, general manager Kevyn Adams spoke to the media on Tuesday. There, of course, were things that he couldn’t say, but he did speak in general terms about the nine Sabres players in the NHL's COVID-19 protocols.
“We have a number of players and staff on the list, some are symptomatic, some are asymptomatic,” Adams said on a Zoom call, but wasn’t allowed to say anything more than that.
Adams did say he’s been proud of his players and staff on how they’ve followed protocols since Day 1 of training camp.
The team announced last week Thursday that head coach Ralph Krueger had COVID-19, because he was comfortable with letting it be released.
“Ralph is symptomatic," Adams revealed. "I talk to him every day and I feel comfortable that he’s being looked after by our doctors and trainers. We’ll have to see where we go from here as we get into next week.”
Adams doesn’t know if Krueger will be able to coach behind the bench for Monday’s game. Assistant coach Steve Smith ran practice for the team on Tuesday.
The Sabres hadn’t had any problems with COVID-19 until they played the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 30 and 31. New Jersey already had players on its COVID-19 Protocols list, and Kyle Palmieri was added after Saturday’s game. Adams said he did have a conversation with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and said that based on the information that he was given, it was decided that Saturday's game was decided to be played.
“On Sunday I didn’t have any more information and nothing had changed that I was aware of,” Adams explained.
Adams was asked if he now believes that COVID-19 can be transmitted on the ice during games.
“I’m not a doctor, but we hadn’t had any cases, and our players have been incredibly disciplined," the general manager said. "We come into a situation where, potentially, it was in the New Jersey locker room, and now we are where we are. So there’s the ability to connect the dots, but I don’t, in any way, want to say that it’s happening on the ice. We need to let time play out and we have to let the doctors be the experts and then we’ll know.”
Adams knows it’s going to be a real challenge for teams around the National Hockey League to get, at least, six feet of space in-between lockers. Buffalo’s visiting room is extremely small, as are others around the league, and he’s had multiple discussions on how to accomplish this.
Adams told the players before practice that the grind is going to be even harder with a more condensed schedule that goes with six games being postponed. Adams said nothing has been mentioned to him by anybody about making it less than a 56-game schedule.
I can only imagine what’s going through the players minds through this ordeal. They were told they had to leave the arena immediately after practice on Tuesday, so Adams spoke to the media, while some players will on Wednesday.
Adams has spoken to the players a lot in the last week while they’ve been in quarantine.
“They’re certainly worried and care about the players that are symptomatic, so they wonder and they’re hoping," Adams said. "But being allowed in the facility for the first time today and the spirit of the group is really strong right now, and I sense a relief to be back in our building and to be able to go on the ice and practice.”
Assistant coach Don Granato almost died last year as he fought pneumonia. He was in the hospital for weeks and on a ventilator. He has been on the bench for games this season and with all that’s happened with COVID-19, Adams said it’s still being evaluated if he needs to be moved or something else.
Adams had to know that it was safe for his players and coaches to emerge from quarantine on Tuesday. Adams said there were factors that led to him being comfortable with it.
“The doctors ultimately gave me the comfort that based on the science and based on the contact tracing."
He also mentioned that having the rapid testing Tuesday morning helped too. Adams said that they could’ve practice Monday night, but he wanted to give it one more day.
With so many games in such a short period of time, the Sabres' sports performance staff is going to be key. That will help them decide what needs to be done in-between games, including tweaking travel.
The nine players in the NHL's COVID-19 Protocols were not on the ice Tuesday. That would include Rasmus Ristolainen, Taylor Hall, Tobi Rieder, Brandon Montour, Jake McCabe, Curtis Lazar, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin.
Honestly, you could see the joy in the players' faces as they were released from quarantine and allowed to come to the arena and practice.
Tuesday’s lines were:
Forwards:
Sheahan - Staal - Reinhart
Skinner - Eakin - Okposo
Olofsson - Eichel - Thompson
Defense:
Irwin – Jokiharju
Davidson – Miller
Smith – Borgen
Goalies:
Ullmark – Hutton – Johansson
Photo: Micheline Michaelina (@MiMiV4682)
