Alex Ovechkin and three other Washington Capitals, including Evgeni Kuznetsoz, were added to the NHL unavailable due to the COVID list, but not because they tested positive. The players, including Ovechkin and Kuznetsov, gathered in a hotel room without facial covers.
The team was fined $ 100,000 for the infraction, “which involved social interactions between members of the team who were in close contact and who did not wear facial covers,” according to the NHL statement.
Although neither the team nor the league cited a specific date for the incident, it occurred during Washington’s first two games in Buffalo or the last two games in Pittsburgh. On Saturday, Washington was in Pittsburgh, and PHN learned from sources that Washington had a team dinner on Saturday night.
However, there is no confirmation as to when the transgression occurred.
Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov and defender Dmitri Orlov were put on the list the day after losing to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, 5-4 in the OT.
Washington Capitals statement:
Our training team has worked hard to create a safe environment for our players and team to compete this season. We are disappointed with the choice of our players to interact in their hotel rooms and outside the areas approved by the team. We accept the NHL decision and will once again reiterate the current COVID-19 protocols to ensure that players are fully compliant in the future.
Ovechkin’s statement:
I regret my choice to spend time with my teammates in our hotel room and away from the changing rooms. I will learn from that experience.
There is considerable concern that hockey players are more easily able to transmit the virus while on the rink. A December report in the Washington Post theorized that drier air and less moisture on ice allow the virus to spread more easily.
The Washington Post report on COVID on hockey rinks cited subjects being investigated and was not a conclusive study.
As part of the new NHL COVID-19 protocols put in place for the NHL 2020-21 season, teams must guarantee two additional hotel rooms on road trips in the event of a positive COVID-19 test. Players no longer share rooms. Players are only permission to go to the rink and hotel on road trips. No other destination, including bars, restaurants, clubs, is allowed.
Players are tested daily and will be tested for the first four weeks of the season. After the first month, NHL and NHLPA agreed to review the situation to maintain daily tests or to reduce it.
According to NHL protocols, players can meet in approved areas, but not in nearby locations, such as a hotel room without a mask. It is not yet clear whether the players will be available for the Washington Capitals home debut on Friday.
