Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams praised the discipline of his players and staff as it pertains to COVID-19 protocols before the team returned to the ice for practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.
The Sabres had not practiced since shutting down its facilities last Tuesday as the result of multiple additions to the NHL's COVID-related absence list. They last played on Sunday, Jan. 31 at home against the New Jersey Devils, who entered that game with six players in COVID protocol.
New Jersey placed an additional four players on the COVID-related absence list the following day and halted play as a result. Buffalo saw its first two additions to the list - forward Taylor Hall and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen - last Tuesday.
Adams addresses COVID situation as Sabres return to practice
"Our staff's gone way above and beyond putting every measure in place that we can to protect our players," Adams said. "So, I think it's important just to tell everyone that, that I have been proud [of] how serious our players have taken this."
Buffalo has nine players in COVID protocol as of Tuesday: forwards Hall, Tobias Rieder, Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, and Casey Mittelstadt along with defensemen Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Jake McCabe, and Rasmus Dahlin. COVID-related absences can result from a variety of factors, including:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol;
(2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol;
(3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol;
(4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or;
(5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.
Adams, in accordance with NHL policy, did not specify which players have tested positive, though he did say that some are symptomatic and others are not. Adams also provided an update on Sabres coach Ralph Krueger, who was announced as having tested positive last Thursday.
"Ralph is symptomatic," Adams said. "I've talked to him multiple times every day. I feel very comfortable that he's being looked after from our doctors and trainers. We'll have to see yet where we go from here as we get into next week. We certainly hope that Ralph's asymptomatic and comes out of the protocols and he's ready to go when we play our next game."
When the Sabres play next has yet to be determined. Four games were initially postponed last Tuesday, resulting in a schedule shift that affected 12 games. An additional two games - originally scheduled for Feb. 11 and 13 - were postponed Monday.
The Sabres, as of Tuesday, are next scheduled to play at home against the New York Islanders on Feb. 15. Adams said he has not had conversations with the NHL about shortening the 56-game schedule, though he did say there is potential to push games further into May.
"I do know from conversations with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, it's critical they feel the integrity of the season is there," Adams said. "So, that's not been brought up to me or anyone else in our organization about anything different than 56 games. But we'll react. If anything changes, we'll adjust and we'll do our best to move to the next whatever we're told to do."
Questions that will remain when the Sabres do return to play extend from personnel to protocol. The team practiced with 15 skaters and three goaltenders on Friday in a session led by assistant coach Steve Smith. Fellow assistant coach Don Granato - who was hospitalized with severe pneumonia just last season - did not take the ice and is working with the team to evaluate options.
"We have to look after our staff," Adams said. "We have to look after our players. We have to support them in every way. I've had some just real honest conversations with Donnie. I know that Ralph has as well, and we're going to kind of see how this plays out over the next few days.
"But he's an incredibly important part of our staff. But he also can do a lot of his job in other ways, so do we see if he goes upstairs and not behind the bench? We'll make those calls as we get closer, but ultimately it'll be us supporting Donnie to what he feels the most comfortable with based on what he's been through in the past."
Protocol changes have already been announced by the NHL following possible outbreaks in Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minnesota, among others. League-wide adjustments announced Feb. 4 include removing the glass behind benches to improve air flow, installing air cleaners behind benches, limiting pregame arrival time, and increasing space in dressing rooms to six feet between stalls.
Adams said the NHL is continuing to learn and adapt as situations present themselves and the Sabres will follow suit.
"We're going to adhere to every single protocol that the NHL puts in front of us," Adams said. "We've already done some of that as to prepare for this day to be ready. We all want the same thing. We all want our players to be safe, we all want our staff to be safe and healthy but … it's not just about the home locker room, it's what happens when you go on the road - what other measures can you take and what other measures the organization can take.
"As recently as a couple of hours ago I talked to our equipment manager to ask what other teams in our division are doing and how are we not just worrying about ourselves at home but what's being done when we go on the road. We owe that to each other, we owe that as a National Hockey League, as a group we owe that to each other within the group, to make sure that we're also putting players that come into our building in the best possible position to stay safe."
