Inside Scoop: One Year Later
A look back at the day the NHL pressed pause and a look ahead to the future
Right around the same time, everyone in the Penguins' travel party on the road in Columbus - who had all been waiting at the team hotel since that morning - got a message saying we would be leaving in 10 minutes to take us to the airport so we could fly back to Pittsburgh.
I immediately grabbed my suitcase and went downstairs. As I walked outside, I remember stopping to chat with Patric Hornqvist about how surreal it all was. After boarding the bus for team staff and media, I filmed an interview for In the Room setting the scene and explaining our situation.
"It's been such a weird day because we didn't know what was going to happen," I said. "You wake up in the morning and you're like, well, I guess I'll get ready for the day and see what happens. Then you're just basically waiting to hear what the directive is and what's next.
"We made sure to stay by the hotel, have our luggage all packed and ready to go and just be ready to hit the road. That's exactly what happened. We're heading back to Pittsburgh, and we'll see what happens from there."
I had absolutely NO idea what would end up being in store for us over the next year, and neither did anyone else. So much has happened since, but the positive is that things are starting to return to normal, as evidenced by fans returning to PPG Paints Arena - where they belong - for the first time last week.
In talking with numerous players this week, they have all shared the same sentiment: they feel lucky to be doing what they love, and even more fortunate now to be playing in front of their loyal supporters who have been there for them this entire time.
"At that point, I didn't expect that it would have been what it turned into," Sidney Crosby said. "I don't know if anyone could have predicted that. It's hard to believe when you look back, but it's great to be playing again and great to see people in the building and it's slowly getting back to normal."
Here's a look back at that trip, and a look ahead to the future.
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When I packed my suitcase the morning of March 9 to leave that afternoon for a three-game swing that had scheduled stops in New Jersey, Columbus and Carolina, I truly didn't realize how surreal everything would become midway through the trip.
Everything was mostly normal for the game against the Devils on March 10, minus changing the location of media availability from being held inside the locker room to a designated area outside the locker room so that there would be a safe distance between reporters and players.
The Penguins got a huge, much-needed victory after a rough stretch that saw them drop two straight and eight of 10. Right afterward, we flew straight to Columbus with everyone feeling good. The mood on the plane was super light, and at one point, someone in the back commented on how much better it feels after a win.
The Penguins practiced at Nationwide Arena on March 11, and when we got back to the team hotel, reports started coming out that Ohio governor Mike DeWine would issue an order prohibiting mass gatherings in the state.
That afternoon, the announcement came that the Penguins and the Blue Jackets would play their game that Thursday with restricted attendance. It would be closed to the public, with admission limited to home and visiting club personnel, credentialed media and broadcast partners, essential club and arena staff and NHL officials.
Needless to say, that was the topic of conversation amongst myself and other team staffers who went to dinner together at a nearby Italian restaurant that night. As we ate, we would occasionally look up at the news playing on the TV above our table. And that's when we saw that the basketball game between the NBA's Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City had been canceled shortly before it was set to begin after one of the players, Rudy Gobert, had tested positive for COVID-19.
We went back to our hotel that night knowing we needed to be ready for anything the following day, but the Penguins still had to go about their business as usual that next morning until they heard otherwise.
Some of them, including the coaches, got their own transportation to the rink early. The rest of them, including the players, were going to take a 10 a.m. bus. They got on and were about to head over when they were told to go back inside the hotel. That's when we got a note from our director of team operations asking us to please stay as close to the hotel as possible, and to please have our luggage packed just in case. From there, it was just a waiting game.
After getting word that the game against the Blue Jackets was indeed canceled following a call with the league and the NHL Board of Governors, we went on our way.*After arriving at the plane, we lined up to go through security. A few of the players had gone to pick up cleaning and disinfectant supplies since we had heard those items were selling fast in stores back home. As we waited to board, I joked with one of them that he could probably sell his canister of Lysol wipes for about 50 bucks a pop if he wanted to.
After we landed in Pittsburgh, Mike Sullivan addressed the team before we got in our cars and headed home. I was completely unaware that would be the last time I was around that group for a year and counting.
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It's been a difficult and challenging time filled with sacrifices for everyone as we've adjusted to life during a global pandemic. But something Sullivan said at the beginning of the pause really stuck with me, and is especially prescient now that we are starting to turn the corner.
"We will get through this, we will get through this together and we will all get on the other side of it," he said. "I hope we all gain an appreciation for one another and have a little bit more tolerance for one another when we do get on the other side of this."
That has certainly been the case, as Sullivan reflected the other day.
"I think this whole thing gives us a dose of perspective," he said. "And maybe some things that that we would normally take for granted in our lives, we don't necessarily take for granted anymore."
That applies to everyone within the Penguins organization, as we are all so grateful that the 2020-21 campaign is taking place, thanks to the tireless efforts of so many to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved from the players to the fans.
"It's pretty crazy to think that it's been a year, and a lot has happened, but I think we're pretty lucky to have gone through so much and still be having the opportunity to play hockey and get this season in," Mike Matheson said. "We're lucky to be able to wake up and do what we do every day."
But not only that - it's now happening in an environment is slowly starting to gain some semblance of normalcy.
"With the fans being back in the rink and being able to see them and have them cheer us on, I think it's going in the right direction," Tristan Jarry said. "It's definitely great to have them and I think it makes a huge difference in our game when they're there to support us."
"It just creates the environment that we're all accustomed to, that we're all longing for, that we haven't had in quite a long time," Sullivan said.
It's a huge first step, and hopefully we can continue to take strides forward.
"It's been a wild year since then, but it's nice to be playing hockey again," Evan Rodrigues said. "It's nice to have fans back in the stands the past few games. So things are starting to turn, and hopefully they continue to get better over the next few months and everyone gets past this."
