Last night, on November 23, the Vegas Golden Knights organization confirmed to TSN that four of their players tested positive for COVID-19. The players are self-isolating and reportedly recovering well. The organization did not announce the names of the players that tested positive.
The Vegas @GoldenKnights confirmed to TSN that 4 players recently tested positive for COVID-19, the largest known single NHL team outbreak since March.
Team says players have been self-isolating and are “all recovering well.”
Full statement from the organization: pic.twitter.com/j9Fu6cASzE
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 24, 2020
Multiple Vegas Golden Knights Players Test Positive for COVID-19
The organization closed all facilities for multiple days in the future to prevent further contact between players and possible positive cases. However, this won’t be enough to stop the damage that has already been done. More than likely, more than four players have COVID-19, and have not been tested yet or are not showing symptoms. This might delay the reopening of team facilities even longer. In addition, the players who are confirmed to have COVID-19 will be putting their families at risk. It is possible their family members already have it and will need to self isolate as well.
What This Means for the Future
Obviously, decisions are still being made about how next season will look. It seems likely that there will be four divisions that travel very infrequently, to contain the virus if an outbreak were to occur in a team. However, each of these proposed divisions would have at least seven teams in it. This is hundreds of people who could be possible carriers without knowing it. The league needs to set strict guidelines and make sure players adhere to them in order to have the season run to a conclusion, without being interrupted by an outbreak.
The biggest problem facing the NHL is that it is much easier to just not have a season and let the virus calm down, then return in more normal times. However, that is impossible. The NHL would lose billions of dollars, not to mention the teams who are already struggling to fill stadium capacity. In addition, the league would become irrelevant. So the NHL must find a way to have this next season safely and fairly.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
