Alain Vigneault and the Flyers were left to prepare for the unknown.
A trip to Washington, DC, something that has become so routine for Flyers over the years, has evolved into a breathtaking weeklong experience that the team will probably never forget.
The coronavirus made its way into the Flyers’ group, revealing itself during the club’s two games in the nation’s capital last week. Several cases of COVID-19 put the Flyers into a mandatory seven-day NHL blockade.
Vigneault, general manager Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers are making the most of an unsettling situation. Although lacking in manpower, the team returned to the ice on Tuesday at the Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone for the first time since February 8, when they practiced at Capital One Arena. The Flyers were closed on February 9 and returned home in the afternoon, instead of playing a game against the Capitals that night.
“I kept in touch especially with the players who hired COVID or were in close contact and were considered COVID possibilities,” said Vigneault on Tuesday. “As an organization, Chuck and I and my assistants, we have been in touch to see how the guys are feeling. Fortunately, we had some who had minimal symptoms and some who had no symptoms at all. So we’ve been lucky that way.
“The other guys (not positive), we’ve been telling everyone to get ready. We didn’t know how long this was going to last; would it be seven days? Eight days? Two whole weeks?
“I hope we made it in time and now this virus will stay away from our team.”
The tests and the journey home
On Super Bowl Sunday, Travis Sanheim lost the Flyers’ 7-4 victory over the Capitals because he was placed on the NHL’s COVID protocol list. Without Sanheim, the Flyers were able to practice on Monday after their COVID-19 tests were negative.
The next day, the game against the Capitals was postponed due to what happened to be at least a positive test. The Flyers that Tuesday received their typical laboratory-based COVID-19 PCR tests and the point of service rapid tests recently instituted across the league. Vigneault confirmed that Claude Giroux had tested positive, which led to the postponement of the game. Giroux and Justin Braun were added to the NHL COVID protocol list that night.
As Giroux and Braun stayed in Washington, DC, the Flyers returned home abnormally in the afternoon.
“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were crazy days,” said Fletcher on Tuesday. “You are testing hard and waiting for the results and hoping that the virus is not spreading across the team. We managed to avoid some damage, but we certainly had some players who tested positive and that is a difficult thing to do.
“It is difficult when you are on the road; it is much easier I think that when you are at home maybe you control and contain some things. Surely you look at this facility here, the Skate Zone – we have a lot of space for physical distance, we have two changing rooms that we can use, we have two medical rooms, we have two changing rooms, two sets of showers, a huge weight room, so things they are much easier at home than on the road, when you have buses and are in smaller dressing rooms and are doing the best you can.
“We tested twice that Tuesday – we did the test in the morning and all the negative results were able to get on three different buses to get home. I believe we had about 12 people on each bus and we did our best to physically distance ourselves But clearly, once the virus is in your group, the results are not always desirable. “
‘Follow everything to the letter’
During the closing of the club, the Flyers came to the premises strictly for testing the COVID-19 and nothing else.
“We arrived every morning between 9:30 am and 10:30 am, some days we had a test that we had to do, other days we had two,” said Vigneault. “He entered through the front door, there was a locked area, we did our tests, got back to our vehicles and went home. This is the order of the league. We have followed all protocols and we have followed everything to the letter. I’m not sure how it happened, as unfortunately we had a case that led to two that obviously led to more, but somehow it did. “
The NHL handled a series of postponements and several staff shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this month, the league reviewed and intensified its COVID-19 arena protocols, as well as its test / safety measures.
The Flyers on Tuesday night had seven players on the NHL’s COVID protocol list: Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom, Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost, Jakub Voracek, Giroux and Braun. There are several factors that contribute to why a player can be placed on the list of COVID protocols. A player absent because of the COVID protocol does not necessarily mean that the player’s test is positive for the coronavirus.
It is not known how many players and / or team members of the Flyers tested positive for COVID-19 during this period.
“In our group, one of the guys – I’m not going to name his name – who put so much emphasis on the mask and hand washing and doing all the right things, social distance, we have no idea how he got COVID but he still has COVID, “said Vigneault.” Let’s hope those who do continue to be healthy, which is what has happened so far, and let’s hope that’s it and go back to playing hockey.
“Without a doubt, it worries everyone. My players have wives, girlfriends, children, parents – obviously, it worries a lot.”
‘Group chat is still skyrocketing’
Kevin Hayes was one of 16 players to train on Tuesday. As usual, Hayes was visibly vocal and upbeat on the ice, especially after the Flyers had been gone for seven days.
Hayes will not have six of his regular teammates when the team plays its first game in 11 days. The Flyers will host the Rangers on Thursday (19h ET / NBCSP) and will not have Giroux, Konecny, Voracek, Lindblom, Laughton and Braun.
“I love being around the guys, I love hanging out with the guys, going out to dinner,” said Hayes. “This year we were not allowed to do this, we have many rules that we must follow, we have to ensure that everyone follows the right safety protocols and does the right things for the season to continue.
“It’s definitely different; the only time you see your teammates is on the track and on the ice. That makes it a lot more fun on the track.”
Giroux’s ironman seamless streak with 328 consecutive games will come to an end on Thursday night. The last game the captain lost was on April 10, 2016, when he was left out at the end of the Flyers’ regular season, as the team had already secured their place in the playoff the day before.
Hayes, a text message leader for the Flyers team group, made a point of connecting with Giroux and Braun while the two teammates had to stay in DC
“It’s definitely scary, but I try to make them laugh a little,” said Hayes. “There is nothing funny about COVID, but I just tried to do FaceTime G and Justin when they were stuck in Washington, trying to make them laugh a little. Everyone [within our team] who has COVID is now dealing with it in the right way and the symptoms are not so bad, so I hope this continues. It’s hard to keep the mood light when the guys can’t come to the rink and do the job they’ve been doing for years. But group chat is still going on, we’re still talking and stuff. “
Can’t perform at Lake Tahoe?
After Thursday’s game, the Flyers will travel to Stateline, Nevada, to play against the Bruins on Sunday in one of the NHL Outdoors games in Lake Tahoe this weekend.
Did the Flyers ever learn from the NHL that they were at risk of not participating in the event?
“Not that I know of,” said Fletcher. “I have been in daily contact with [NHL deputy commissioner] Bill Daly and all the emphasis has been solely on the health and well-being of our players, making sure that we are doing what we can to keep players who contracted the virus isolated, keep other players in quarantine and keep our facilities closed. I speak to him daily about the results of our tests when we received them and we are working together to reach that day when we are back in training, albeit with a smaller group. The whole focus has been on getting back and getting ready for Thursday. And everything is going well, that’s what we hope to do. We didn’t have any of those conversations, no. “
Subscribe and rate Flyers Talk
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | You Tube