Players realize the privilege they have

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/01/2021 (1710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been said that a little gratitude can go a long way. And so my ears, in addition to my eyes, have been wide open this week as I watch the Winnipeg Jets skate at Bell MTS Iceplex.

Sure, I want to find out what Patrik Laine thinks about his agent’s public trade request, whether this underachieving group can improve its defensive awareness, how the much-maligned blue-line battle will play out and what Connor Hellebuyck can do for an encore, among many other things.

But what I’ve really been curious about is what, if anything, players say about the current environment, one which allows them to continue playing a game they love while the rest of society is basically under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a nutshell: do they realize how damn lucky they really are?

There’s no question this 2021 NHL season is going to be unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. From a shortened training camp and compacted regular season with realigned divisions to playing in mostly empty rinks, abiding by extensive health and safety protocols and not being able to hang out with teammates on road trips, the rules of the game have changed dramatically.

Heck, Paul Maurice has to keep his mask on at all times, whether on the ice running drills or behind the bench, which is going to make it difficult for the Jets head coach to launch into one of his trademark profanity-filled tirades at referees this season. He’s even using a remote-controlled whistle to prevent spittle from flying in all directions.

With that in mind, I wondered if anyone might try to paint this as some kind of “woe-is-us” scenario. At which point I would break out the world’s tiniest violin while simultaneously hammering out a column ripping them to shreds for their tone-deaf ways.

Instead, I’m happy to report, there’s been nothing of the sort. If there’s any grumbling, it’s wisely being done behind closed doors. A handful of Jets have actually gone out of their way to speak about the privilege they realize they have.

“There’s a lot of things going on in the world that are very serious and require more attention than some of the inconveniences that we’re going to have in this NHL season,” said captain Blake Wheeler.

No kidding. If you’re like me, your social media feed these days is probably divided into two camps, and not necessarily equally. Some folks are thrilled their favourite sport is back, ready and eager to cheer on their favourite team for the next few months. Others are livid that special exemptions have been made for millionaire athletes, especially when little Johnny or Jane can’t lace ’em up with their friends. Or even see their friends, for that matter.

I totally get it. On the professional side, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled to be back at the rink, cranking out a few thousand words a day on all things Jets. It’s what I love to do, and I’ve missed it dearly. On a personal side, I’ve got a three-week-old niece I’ve yet to meet, parents I still haven’t exchanged Christmas presents with or seen outside of Zoom calls, and two teenage kids increasingly frustrated at not being able to see their friends or return to the lives they left behind.

And many, many people have it far worse. Which is why I don’t begrudge anyone who takes issue with the timing of hockey’s return.

“We’re fortunate to be able to play a game right now with everything going on in the world, so if you’ve got to take a two-second test in your nose to accomplish that, I think we’d all be OK doing that for as long as we need to,” Wheeler said.

Those nasal swabs are key, and a big reason the NHL is up and running while your favourite Timbits or peewee player can’t even step foot in a rink right now. The league is paying for exhaustive testing, not in any way taking from public resources. And, in some cases, players are being subjected to even more stringent protocols than average citizens.

For example, an Alberta resident could get on a commercial flight today, fly to Winnipeg and immediately move about the city, without the need for quarantine. Yet Jets prospects Ville Heinola and Cole Perfetti, who have spent the past month inside the World Juniors hockey bubble in Edmonton, won’t have the same freedoms as they board a flight Wednesday.

Instead, they’ll miss another week of Jets camp while they self-isolate, an added requirement all provincial governments in Canada insisted on before giving the green light.

Boo-hoo, right? Again: Nobody better complain. And they aren’t, fortunately.

“Hopefully we can provide a little entertainment to help lift the spirits and provide some people that are stuck at home a little something to do. In these challenging times it’s things that can take your mind off it or get you through another day that are important. Hopefully hockey can be that light for some people,” Adam Lowry, Winnipeg’s player rep, told me Tuesday. 

This plan only works if everyone buys in, and the NHL earned itself some rope when they pulled off last summer’s Stanley Cup playoffs without a single positive test once 24 teams got inside the bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto.

COVID-19 numbers are much worse now, and there’s not going to be a bubble, so the risk is much higher. Time will tell if they can pull it off.

“From the nurses to the people doing tests, to the people in these back rooms working tirelessly, doing power points, whatever they’re doing, you can’t thank those people enough for all the work they’ve done and don’t get the full credit for,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who was on the NHLPA committee that negotiated terms of the new season.

“The amount of people that are working behind the scenes that I’ve never met, or even (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman’s never met, that are working tirelessly to get things done, those are the people that we owe all this credit to and can’t thank them enough.”

No, you can’t. But at least you and your teammates are making the effort. Which is how it should be.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg