The Daily Faceoff Show: Looking for a silver lining in the pause of the NHL season

There’s nothing good about COVID-19. Let’s start with that, which should be a given that we all can agree on.

For the NHL, the impact of COVID has been felt deeply, both in the 2019-20 season that was shortened to a 56-game regular season and the current campaign, which will be shut down for four days starting on Dec. 22. This pausing of the 2021-22 season comes as 131 players throughout the league (18% of all players) and several staff members across 24 teams have entered COVID protocol as positive tests for Omicron variant have dramatically risen in recent days.

On Tuesday’s episode of The Daily Faceoff Show, Frank Seravalli sought to look for any potential silver linings to the league’s present situation. One thing he cited is how the details of the league’s COVID protocol suggest that there may be much fewer positive tests over the next couple of months.

Take the case of the Calgary Flames, who lead the league with 19 players in COVID protocol.

Seravalli: “No one wants the players to be testing positive or sick here, quite obviously. I think everyone’s thankful that most players have been asymptomatic. Or even the players that have been symptomatic have certainly had very mild symptoms up to this point. Typical, cold season symptoms.

“The silver lining when you look at the NHL’s protocol is that once you test positive, you don’t need to be tested again for a 90-day period of time.

“So look at a team like the Calgary Flames. They’re going to be rocking and rolling as soon as they can get everyone back. Because they’re not going to have to test most of their roster for a really long time. They’re not going to have to be worrying about positive cases because none are going to be popping up, because they’re not testing.”

You can watch the full episode here…