"We're all doing this from home. It's not ideal, but we understand that. I think we all understood there was a chance something like this was going to happen. You look at all the other sports, and it's rare to find a team that it didn't affect," Brind'Amour said on a media call on Thursday. "It's not really about was it going to happen. It's how do you deal with it? That's really what we're going to find out."
Right now, the questions outnumber the answers with the who, what, when, where, why and how of it all.
"There's so much unknown. You always want to err on the side of caution. We've done all the protocols. I think we've done a great job," Brind'Amour said. "Obviously, it didn't matter. It got into our room. We're just trying as best we can to follow everything that the people who know what they're talking about are telling us. We're listening."
Until the Canes can return to their facilities and get back on the ice, they're making do just like everyone else. Thursday was a "practice" day, but it was held on Zoom. Like the Santa Claus of fitness, strength and conditioning coach Bill Burniston has been dropping off bikes to players around Raleigh so they can maintain some semblance of physical activity.
It's certainly not an ideal situation, but what is these days?
"We're making the best of the situation," Brind'Amour said. "Are we going to be in tip-top shape? Probably not. We're going to have to figure out different ways to make up for the time we've lost. … It really just comes down to doing it right as best you can. That's what we've always preached."
It's unknown when the team's facilities will reopen. It's unknown when the team will return to play - the next game on the schedule is currently Tuesday, Jan. 26, the start of a two-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's unknown who the Canes will even have available when they do drop the puck again.
All of that is in a constant state of flux dependent on COVID test results in the coming days.
"Right now, it's day-to-day," President and General Manager Don Waddell said. "We're hoping that by the time we get toward the weekend that we can start doing some things. Maybe it won't be a full team, but we'll start doing some things and ramp back up to a full practice to get ready to play next week."
That timeline remains guesswork with a dash of optimism. The same is true for the Canes' schedule and the three games that have been postponed. Those will be made up at some point in the future, Waddell said, a reshuffling process that's likely to condense an already tight 56-game slate.
But whether the Canes will have to play three games in three days (unlikely, according to Waddell, given the heightened risk for injury in such a situation) or five in seven or the playoffs get pushed back by a week or whatever the case may be, what matters most is the health and safety of all involved.
That's why the league has enacted stringent protocols. That's why those protocols could even be revised moving forward (rapid COVID testing could be a consideration, and Waddell mentioned that the team now has those capabilities at PNC Arena). That's why the Canes have had to press pause, despite the challenges that pressing play will inevitably present.
Until then, the team waits and hopes for the best.
"At the end of the day, we're still pretty lucky that we're even able to talk about the fact that we're playing a game," Brind'Amour said. "I believe in the group, and I think we can find a way to get through this."
