COVID-19 surge causing disruptions for Seattle Kraken, NHL
Kraken captain Mark Giordano spent 10 days in Florida after entering COVID-19 protocol at the end of November.
He stayed in a room by himself for more than a week, reliant on FaceTime to talk to his family. Luckily for Giordano, his symptoms were mild. Minor congestion, he said, and a temporary loss of taste and smell. On Dec. 7, he returned to practice with his team.
Giordano is just one of the Seattle players who have entered NHL COVID protocols this season. The Kraken had six players and staff members in COVID protocol heading into Tuesday’s game against San Jose, including forwards Yanni Gourde, Riley Sheahan and Colin Blackwell and assistant coach Jay Leach.
“It is what it is,” Kraken forward Alex Weinberg said last week. “Right now, this is the world we’re living in. All of this going on, it’s really serious. You’ve just got to take it and make the best out of it. Obviously, it’s something that we really can’t affect.
“Players can be out of the line-up. All you can do is focus on what you can affect and what you can do about it. For me, it’s just trying to be careful and do those things to prevent it. After that, it’s part of the game right now. There’s nothing I can do about it. You just got to see it as a challenge and do what you can.”
The concerning trend is growing throughout the NHL. From Monday morning to Tuesday evening, almost 30 NHL players and staff members were placed in COVID-19 protocols.
Calgary’s season was paused on Monday due to an outbreak and on Wednesday, the league delayed its return to play. The Kraken are scheduled to face the Flames next Thursday. Minnesota’s game with Carolina was postponed on Tuesday due to an outbreak within the Hurricanes’ organization. Nine games have been postponed so far this season due to COVID-19.
Seattle has yet to have a game postponed, but it has been dealing with continual line-up changes due to players entering protocol.
“It’s not ideal to have these types of changes on the morning of a game,” Hakstol said last week. “But it’s not new for anybody in the sports world right now. We just want to get all the information and then we take a step back for a few minutes and make some decisions on what we feel is best for our line-up and how we put our roster together. … We have to be flexible and look for our best solutions.”
The NHL/NHLPA had a call with their doctors on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kaplan also reported that the talks would continue on Wednesday. While the league isn’t considering a pause, Kaplan reported Wednesday afternoon that the league will start enhanced protocols — including daily testing, mandatory masks and limited community interactions — through January 7.
The league is completely vaccinated — save for Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi, who has refused the vaccine. Before the season, Kraken general manager Ron Francis confirmed the Kraken were 100% vaccinated. Asked last week about his team’s booster status, Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol said he wouldn’t discuss specific medical information. He did say he had received a booster.
The COVID uptick isn’t limited to the NHL. On Monday, the NFL had a season-high 36 players added to the league’s COVID-19 list. The NFL is now requiring coaches, front-office staff and team personnel to receive a booster by Dec. 27, according to USA Today. In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls recently had to postpone two games as 10 players entered protocols.
“It’s scary. It is,” Seattle forward Ryan Donato said before Tuesday’s game. “At the end of the day, we’ve been dealing with it for so long now that I think guys are used to it. But it’s tough when it happens to you. It’s obviously a little different. When you have guys and friends and teammates that get it, it’s a little more nerve-wracking because it could have been just as easily you or your family member.
“It’s definitely a little nerve-wracking, but we’ve been dealing with it for so long that we know it’s next guy up and everybody is going to get an opportunity with the way things are going.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 12:13 PM.
