“You talk about a five-week quarantine, if you’ve already been over there for a few weeks, that’s a really long time,” John Tavares of the Maple Leafs told The Hockey News. “That’s a long time. That’s a really long time.”
So what exactly are the protocols going to be?
Well, that isn’t yet clear, and that also has players and N.H.L. team owners uncertain about the right course of action.
“We’re waiting on an awful lot of information to come from the I.O.C. and the Chinese,” Donald Fehr, the players’ union’s executive director, told ESPN last week, referring to the International Olympic Committee. “We still don’t know what the Covid situation will be as we get closer.”
Under the somewhat incomplete rules that have been distributed so far, players with a positive test may need to quarantine in China for three to five weeks.
Are the owners and players on the same page?
Over the years, players have been significantly more enthusiastic about Olympic participation than the owners, who have disliked disrupting their season. Owners also feel they should get a portion of the vast Olympic revenue.
But this time both sides have similar comments about the “uncertainty” ahead. It remains to be seen what would happen when and if one side decides it is time to withdraw.
Does this come down to money?
While players are motivated to go to the Games in part by the honor of playing for their countries, financial matters are always important. One key consideration is that “players who miss time due to Covid, related to the Olympics, will not be paid under their standard players’ contracts,” Bill Daly, the N.H.L. deputy commissioner, told ESPN.