The NHL regular season will resume Monday following All-Star Weekend. And with the return of all of the action, so too, apparently, comes the return of players entering the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes was added to the protocols Sunday, the team announced.
The announcement came as the league and the NHL Players Association agreed to relax protocols, and in doing so ended daily testing for fully vaccinated players following every team’s final game heading into the break. Players — whether they were participating in the events in Las Vegas or not — were not tested during the All-Star break, but participants would be tested upon returning to team facilities, according to a release from the league and the NHLPA dated Jan. 18.
Hughes was a member of the Metropolitan Division team that won the All-Star Game, besting the Central Division. Boston Bruins star Patrice Bergeron and the rest of the Atlantic Division squad were booted in the semifinal at the hands of the runners-up.
Bergeron also participated in the accuracy shooting competition at Friday’s skills competition. Hughes did not compete in that event, so it seems as though the lone Bruins representative may have been spared close contact with Hughes, at least on the ice. Even if there had been contact, Bergeron would not be tested for the virus unless he developed symptoms under the rules announced Jan. 18.
The Bruins obviously must be hoping their captain remains asymptomatic between now and Tuesday, when the Bruins return to the ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
