Not that I'm a massive sports nerd, but I, like many of my fellow Canadians, was excited to see that the NHL season is finally up and running. A handful of games in and the team isn't looking bad. There's been trades, sure, but overall, there's reason to be optimistic.
Now, as glad as I am that there's something exciting to watch, something reminiscent of the "olden days", it doesn't mean that I'm thrilled with the situation.
For as much as the NHL has tried to limit contacts (think: all new divisions, with teams playing only those other teams within their assigned "region"), the situation is a far cry from the bubble format they used for the playoffs. Which does make sense, since you can't reasonably confine these guys to bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto for months on end.
Reviews on the return to play are mixed. I, for one, hope it works out okay. And bar the optics of it (i.e. millionaire pro athletes getting to do "non-essential" work while some people are jobless and wondering how they'll pay rent), it's nice to have something of a distraction. That said, teams have cancelled practice and lost players due to positive tests and/or COVID-related concerns. There's been no calamitous event yet, but it's still early in the season.
We'll see how this all shakes out.
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