Welcome back: NHL resumes training camps four months after pausing season

By Justin Emerson

Monday, July 13, 2020 | 2 a.m.

It’s going to be weird, but it’s happening, and to most fans, that’s what matters.

The NHL enters Phase 3 of its return-to-play protocol today with formal training camps beginning four months and one day after the league paused its season indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic.

There will be no fans, players will be tested every other day and media access will be severely limited. But the Golden Knights — the whole team, not just a small group — will skate at City National Arena with less than three weeks to go until they head to Edmonton to start the postseason.

So, in case you’re feeling like Thomas Jefferson at the start of Act 2 in "Hamilton," here are answers to questions you might have missed:

What is allowed today that wasn’t allowed yesterday?

Everyone on the team is permitted to be at City National Arena today. The full roster will practice while coaches and front-office officials can resume face-to-face meetings with team personnel.

Previously, players were only permitted for voluntary workouts in small groups. No contact with coaches or management were permitted. For players who plan on participating in the postseason, practices are now mandatory.

With the whole team back together, the Golden Knights and others can resume establishing lines and defensive pairs, working on special teams and running drills.

In short, everything that would be allowed during regular-season practices is back for Phase 3.

What were the first two phases, and how many are there?

This is a four-phase process with the final step the resumption of games in August.

Games will start on August 1, but the Golden Knights aren’t scheduled for their first contest until August 3 against the Dallas Stars.

The first phase began immediately after the season paused, when players were told to self-quarantine at their homes.

The second phase was small-group workouts and on-ice practices at team facilities that started on June 8. That ended yesterday.

Phase 3 is scheduled to last about three weeks and includes teams reporting to their home cities on July 26. The league has reportedly discussed adding a potential exhibition game for each team in Phase 3, though it has not yet been announced.

Can NHL players opt out of the return like players from other leagues have done?

Yes. Players are permitted to excuse themselves from both Phase 3 and 4, “without discipline or penalty,” as long as they notify their team within 72 hours of the return-to-play protocol’s formal ratification.

That would make the deadline later today.

At publication time, nine total NHL players had opted out, and no Golden Knights.

That’s a lot of teams for one NHL arena. How will the bubble work as far as ice time?

Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon says the NHL is handling scheduling to make sure every team gets practice time and morning skates. He expects teams to receive a two-hour window to skate.

In addition to Rogers Place where the games will be played, the Oilers’ practice facility will be open, as well as other rinks in the Edmonton area. McCrimmon believes a total of four rinks will be utilized for the 12 teams to practice.

What health measures are taking place during training camp?

Players must be tested 48 hours before reporting to camp. Once they arrive at City National Arena, they will be tested every other day in addition to going through daily temperature and symptom checks as they enter the building.

If a player starts to exhibit symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19, they will be sent home and told to self-isolate.

If a player tests positive but has no symptoms, he will be allowed to return if he tests negative twice at least 24 hours apart. If an asymptomatic player tests positive twice, he will be considered a confirmed positive. A symptomatic player who tests positive will not need the second tests to be considered a confirmed case.

A player who is confirmed positive must self-isolate and is not allowed to work out, even on his own. He is not allowed physical contact with any other teammate. He is allowed to return after two negative tests and 72 hours without symptoms, or 10 days in isolation if there were no symptoms from the beginning.

Players must maintain a six-foot distance from each other and wear masks while not actively working out or on the ice.

Punishments for non-compliance include fines, loss of draft choices and even ineligibility for the rest of the season.

Is there a chance coronavirus shuts this all down again?

Yes, that’s a real possibility. Major League Baseball is running into its own issues on its restart, namely a backlog of testing and multiple veterans pulling out of play. And a week ago in Edmonton, Misericordia Hospital had such a bad outbreak of COVID-19 that it virtually had to close to the public.

The NHL is also aware of the possibility. A memo sent to teams said if conditions lead the league or players’ union to think that player safety or the integrity of competition is at risk, commissioner Gary Bettman will consult with the NHLPA, “whether to postpone, delay, move or cancel Phase 3.”

The coronavirus has thrown everything into a state of uncertainty. The NHL and NHLPA have set their safety parameters into place and everybody is doing everything possible to play hockey this summer, but there’s no guarantee.

On the hockey front, is everyone the Golden Knights healthy?

Cody Glass is the only one who’s hurt. Other than him, the Golden Knights will be back at full strength in practice today.

Vegas dipped into its minor-league system to ensure it had a full 33-player roster for training camp. The list of players included a few surprises such as Peyton Krebs, Reid Duke and Dylan Coghlan, none of whom have made their NHL debuts. Vegas opted for three goalies, selecting Oscar Dansk as the backup to Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner.

Teams are allowed to bring 31 players to the hub cities, so they’ll need to make a couple cuts.

No Golden Knights players left North America during the pause, and everyone is expected at camp today except Krebs, who has one day left in quarantine and is expected to skate on Tuesday.

How are the Golden Knights positioned when games resume?

Quite well. The Golden Knights enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference but will play a three-game round-robin against the Blues, Avalanche and Stars for seeding, meaning a strong start could propel them into the top seed in the West.

Who will they face after the round-robin?

That all depends on seeding. Since the round-robin will determine which team gets what seed, as well as the fact that the NHL is reseeding before every round, it’s impossible to project a bracket. Vegas could play any team seeded Nos. 5-12 in the first round after the round-robin.

Let’s cut to the chase: Can the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup?

Absolutely. Before the pause, the Golden Knights were one of the hottest teams in hockey, winning 11 of their last 13 including back-to-back road wins over the Flames and Oilers to clinch the Pacific Division.

They have one of the best goalie tandems in hockey, an emerging star on the blue line in Shea Theodore and enough firepower up front to do some damage in the playoffs. On paper, Vegas figures to be one of the favorites to win one of the strangest Stanley Cups ever.

But games aren’t played on paper. They’re played on ice, where the players have returned today. Welcome back to hockey.