The Detroit Red Wings have not gone unaffected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as they’ve had five roster players assigned to their coronavirus protocol list.
For those unfamiliar with the process, a player landing on said list doesn’t mean that they’ve actually tested positive for the illness, but rather have been in recent close contact with someone who had.
Needless to say, the team isn’t taking any chances.
The players on the list include Robby Fabbri, Jon Merrill, Sam Gagner, Adam Erne,, and Filip Zadina.
Head coach Jeff Blashill described the process those players are currently undergoing – including the most unpleasant portion: not being able to exercise for a minimum of two weeks.
“It’s a minimum of 14 days,” Blashill said. “They can’t exercise or exert themselves until those 14 days are up. That’s at a minimum. How many days after that is really hard to tell. But being off for 14 days, that’s a long time.
“Part of the process is getting them back into shape so they don’t injure themselves. That would be the No. 1 priority, so they don’t have soft-tissue issues. It will be very difficult to get them into as many game situations as you’d like because of the fact it’s just really, really hard to practice.”
With an upcoming stretch of 14 games in 28 days, the Red Wings will want to be at as full-strength as possible, but won’t sacrifice player health to that end.
“They won’t be rushed in,” Blashill said. “They will only be put in when we perceive they are in game shape. They might not be as practice-ready as we want, but if they are game shape, then there is a good chance we will insert them back into the lineup given the number of players we are missing.”
Currently, forwards Taro Hirose and Givani Smith are in the lineup from the team taxi squad; both picked up assists on Vladislav Namestnikov‘s goal on Tuesday night against Dallas.
– – Quotes via Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
