The next step in the NHL's plan to restart a season knocked off kilter by COVID-19 got going with something that would have been unfathomable four months ago -- training camps in mid-July.
"Phenomenal just to be back competing," Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "It's been a long journey just to get to this point.""Everybody had that in the back of their mind with so much going on in the world," Toronto centre Auston Matthews added. "These last couple months, just try to stay as optimistic as possible. And I think that's everybody's mindset going into this.
The NHL is aiming to have teams in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton on July 26, with the games starting to count on Aug. 1. "Every team's going through the same thing," said Matthews, who added he was mostly asymptomatic. "Not as much time for certain guys, like myself ... a couple weeks of not really being able to do much. Kind of out of the norm of a typical training camp where you're going in there feeling good. It's gonna be a little bit different, but everybody's going through similar stuff.
"Getting back out on the ice with the boys, being able to do drills full ice and work on our power play, work on our penalty kill, that felt real normal, felt real important," he said. "Everyone is fresh and it sort of feels like the start of a regular camp."Instead of playing a round of golf or attending a family barbecue, teammates were pushing themselves and each other Monday with an eye towards ultimately raising the Stanley Cup.
"You miss being around the guys," he said. "It's great to be back in the same room as everyone, and joking around and chirping each other again." "It's been a lot of work to get to this point," Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. "We have to follow a lot of rules and the protocols, but I'm just excited that the guys are back out."
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