How the NHL is reacting to vaccination policies

The NHL announced the NHL vaccination policies for teams and coaches. Here’s a look at how teams are reacting to the new rules.

The NHL announced their vaccination policies for teams and coaching staff a couple of weeks ago, and now we’ve begun to see how it’s affecting the teams as they adhere to the new rules. A couple of days ago, the NHL tweeted that all but fifteen players would be vaccinated come the beginning of the season. Teams have also been posting whether or not they’re fully vaccinated as well, including the Canes and the Flyers.

In case you missed it, the NHL decided that it would let unvaccinated players play, but the rules would be much different than for those who are vaccinated. If they have a positive test or are affected by a quarantine rule, they will lose the equivalent of one day’s pay, unless they are unvaccinated due to a medical or religious reason. Unvaccinated players will also have to be tested daily, and will not be able to enter any place that is not their hotel room, practice arena, or game arena.

While these rules have not caused anyone to opt out of the season (which they have to do by October 1st), it has had an effect on the coaching staff of multiple teams. The San Jose Sharks assistant coach Rocky Thompson has stepped down after revealing that he cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons. The Columbus Blue Jackets fired Sylvain Lefebvre, part of the head coach’s staff for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, a first for any NHL team.

Mandating the vaccine for the coaching staff is one of the most radical moves I’ve seen the NHL make in terms of vaccination but is it enough? Should players be mandated to be vaccinated as well? Of course, it’s good to only have fifteen players unvaccinated but fifteen maybe too many. Just because you’re vaccinated doesn’t mean you’re immune to COVID, so we could still see the virus run rampage on teams like we did last year, even if the majority of them are vaccinated.

Of course, fans aren’t exempt either. Many teams are starting to come out with rules saying you have to be vaccinated to see the games. This includes the Seattle Kraken, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Winnipeg Jets. There are more coming out every day, so fans should be prepared to get vaccinated if they want to see their favorite teams.