Blackhawks goalie Fleury not sure if he'd go to Olympics
To go or not to go?
That's the decision facing the NHL and its players when it comes to the 2022 Winter Olympics, which begin Feb. 4 in Beijing.
One of the biggest concerns is the lack of guidance about COVID-19 protocols if a player tests positive for the virus.
"(It) would be a huge honor to be selected," Blackhawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said after Monday's practice. "I've been once and it was such a great experience. I have great memories from it. ...
"(But) if you go and play in the tournament and you (have) to stay between four walls for five weeks ... not come back to your team, not play for a month or so, not see your family too - I think it's something you've got to take into consideration."
Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star reported that if a player tests positive and fails to produce two negative tests 24 hours apart he will have to quarantine for 3-5 weeks. Whether or not that quarantine must happen in China is unknown.
If a player is stuck in China, he could lose a portion of his NHL salary once the season begins. A $5 million fund, however, has been established by the IIHF to pay those players' salaries.
As of Monday, Vegas goalie Robin Lehner is the only player who has publicly said he will not participate.
The NHL may also opt out if too many of its games are postponed due to COVID. The cancellation of Hawks vs. Flames game at the United Center on Monday was the eighth contest affected this season.
The Hawks are off from February 3-24, so if the league pulls out of the Olympics it's likely games will be rescheduled during some of that time.
Happy to be back:
The Hawks recalled forwards Brett Connolly and MacKenzie Entwistle from Rockford on Monday, while assigning Mike Hardman to the IceHogs and placing Reese Johnson on injured reserve. Johnson suffered a fractured right clavicle during the Hawks' 5-4 loss at Toronto on Saturday. There is no timeline for his return.
Connolly had 5 goals and 6 assists in 16 games for Rockford while skating mostly with Alex Nylander and Lukas Reichel. The 29-year-old veteran averaged nearly 18 goals a season for the Capitals and Panthers from 2016-20 before falling out of favor in Florida last season.
The Hawks acquired Connolly, Riley Stillman and the rights to Henrik Borgstrom at last season's trade deadline.
"I just wanted to go down there and work my (butt) off, get back up here and be a positive influence on those guys and try and be the best player every night," Connolly said.
"I do owe a lot to that group. I think they helped me as well. I made some friendships down there with some of the younger guys and tried to help them. ...
"It was a lot of fun to play a lot of minutes, important minutes. Just feel good about my game again. I'm really, really fortunate and excited about the opportunity."