Dundon said restrictions made it easier to enact a planned cutback in travel from Dallas to RaleighGETTY IMAGES
One of the "oddities of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols" is that team owners are "barred from physically spending time around their players and hockey staff this season," according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.ca. Owners and team governors are "classified as 'Group 3' personnel." That means they are "permitted to attend and watch games from a suite within arenas," but there are "no locker room visits or stops at training camps or practices." Even GMs and hockey operations personnel are "asked to limit close contacts with Group 1 individuals to 'essential interactions only.'" For some owners who do "not often interact with their players," like Flames co-Owner & Chair Murray Edwards, the NHL’s restrictions "do not represent a big change." Hurricanes Owner Tom Dundon, who resides in Dallas, said that the NHL’s restrictions made this season the "perfect time to enact a planned cutback on his time spent in Raleigh around the team." Dundon added that he was "flying north every 10 days or so to spend time around the Hurricanes when he first purchased the franchise" in early '18 (TSN.ca, 1/27).
