NHL: Edmonton, Toronto have ample testing capacity for coronavirus
Edmonton Oilers' home arena Rogers Place is seen from the interior ahead of the home opener against the Calgary Flames on October 4, 2017 in Edmonton, Canada. Credit: Getty Images/Codie McLachlan
Only two players from among more than 800 have tested positive for COVID-19 during the NHL’s formal training camps, including none this week, and now 24 teams are set to report to either Toronto or Edmonton on Sunday as the league inches closer to resuming games.
There will be daily testing once the teams are enclosed in their quarantined arena/hotel bubble. Still, the league, in revealing details of life in the hub cities, insisted the vast amount of testing – with results expected within 24 hours – will not affect the availability of public testing in either city.
“We were able to select two cities where we felt safe and the disease was in much better shape than many other jurisdictions,” NHL chief medical officer Winne Meeuwisse said on a conference call on Friday that included commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “We contracted companies to do our testing – Dynalife in Edmonton and LifeLabs in Toronto – that we were assured had excess capacity.”
Some positive test results are expected even after teams report to the quarantined bubbles and Bettman has not specified what could derail the NHL’s plans to restart a season that was paused on March 12 because of the pandemic.
Bettman said he had the ultimate authority to decide a player's eligibility but added, “I am not going to be making the medical decisions,” and instead will defer to medical and governmental authorities.
Each hub city bubble will include 14 restaurants for players and staff and concierge services for deliveries. Each team will have a common room and extensive efforts have been made to keep the teams from having to interact within the bubble. In Toronto, BMO Field will serve as an outdoor recreating facility and some out-of-the-bubble excursions may eventually be allowed in Edmonton.
Rogers Place in Edmonton was recently damaged by rain but the NHL’s chief content officer and senior executive vice president of events and entertainment Steve Mayer said everything has been repaired and all damaged equipment replaced.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
