There were no positive tests among the roughly 700 players and staff that spent time in TorontoGETTY IMAGES
NHL and local Toronto civic officials likely “let out a huge sigh of relief Saturday night” after the final postseason game was played in Toronto, concluding a “tense five weeks to keep the NHL’s ... bubble from breaking,” according to Lance Hornby of the TORONTO SUN. There were “no positive COVID-19 tests among the estimated 700 players, support members and NHL staff” that spent time in Toronto. NHL Exec VP/Events Dean Matsuzaki, during the start of Islanders-Flyers Game 7 on Saturday, said, “We were prepared for the worst and ready for all the 24/7 issues that might arise. In hindsight, knock on wood, it did go quite smoothly.” The Islanders and Lightning will join the Golden Knights and Stars in Edmonton for the remainder of the playoffs (TORONTO SUN, 9/6). In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote this has been a “remarkable Stanley Cup tournament produced under remarkable conditions" and observers “should not make the mistake of overlooking how daunting this entire task seemed months ago.” The players and staff members “who have made it this far have been physically isolated since the fourth week of July.” Brooks: “There are still miles to go before the NHL can sleep, but with two rounds to go, excellence merits notice” (N.Y. POST, 9/6).
SOME FAMILY MEMBERS JOINING BUBBLE: The AP’s Stephen Whyno reported the NHL is “allowing some family members to join the Edmonton playoff bubble but is waiting on the Canadian government on the possibility of adding more.” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated that Canadian family members of players, coaches and staff on the teams that reached the conference finals are "free to enter the bubble immediately as long as they adhere to quarantine regulations spelled out before the start of the playoffs." Daly added that the NHL “hasn't yet heard back from the government on additional exemptions for family members who are not Canadian citizens.” Family members must quarantine “upon arrival until they test negative for the coronavirus over four consecutive days and after that must agree to daily health monitoring, including testing, temperature checks, symptom screening and contact tracing.” Daly noted that any Canadian citizens “re-entering the country are subject to the federally mandated 14-day quarantine” (AP, 9/5).
