Jeff Blashill interview from Dallas. Jan. 28, 2021. Detroit Free Press
Help isn’t expected before the middle of next week, and that’s tinged with a good deal of hope.
The Detroit Red Wings were off to a good start when they left for their first road trip of the season, but as they return home for a brief respite, it’s clear just how much they missed the players that didn’t make the trip after testing positive for COVID-19.
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The list includes two-thirds of the second line in Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina, fellow man-advantage players in forward Sam Gagner and defenseman Jon Merrill, and forward Adam Erne, a grinder and penalty killer.
Fabbri and Erne went into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol Jan. 18, and the rest three days later. The Wings left for Chicago Jan. 22. They host the Florida Panthers Saturday and Sunday, then leave for six-game road trip spanning Feb. 3-13.
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Coach Jeff Blashill planned to spend part of Thursday afternoon sitting down with athletic trainer Piet VanZant to map out when players potentially will be available, and sketched something of a timeline.
“It’s a minimum of 14 days,” Blashill said. “They can’t exercise or exert themselves until those 14 days are up. That’s at a minimum. How many days after that is really hard to tell. But being off for 14 days, that’s a long time.
“Part of the process is getting them back into shape so they don’t injure themselves. That would be the No. 1 priority, so they don't have soft-tissue issues. It will be very difficult to get them into as many game situations as you’d like because of the fact it's just really, really hard to practice.”
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After Sunday, the Wings have two days before their next game. At best, Fabbri and Erne may be able to practice by then. But the 14-day period of rest won’t be over for Zadina, Gagner and Merrill before the Wings depart for Tampa, and players have to quarantine 48 hours if they travel commercially.
Having to basically be inactive for at least two weeks means players will need time to regain their game legs. And that won’t be easy in a schedule that holds 14 games in February, leaving scant time for practices.
“They won’t be rushed in,” Blashill said. “They will only be put in when we perceive they are in game shape. They might not be as practice-ready as we want, but if they are game shape, then there is a good chance we will insert them back into the lineup given the number of players we are missing.”
The Wings have had to scramble lines and defense pairings to ameliorate losing five players to the pandemic. It’s a tough break for a guy like Zadina, who came into camp with sky-high confidence after starring in the Czech league, where he played in autumn while the pandemic delayed the start of the NHL season. Fabbri, too, was looking comfortable centering the second line between Zadina and Bobby Ryan.
“Zadina had been playing playing pretty good hockey and then all of a sudden he gets COVID,” Blashill said. “It’s unfortunate for sure for him. Same with Robby Fabbri — he’s had a number of injuries in his career. I know Jonny Merrill was excited about the opportunity he was getting with us on the power play and penalty kill.. It’s unfortunate.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
The Link LonkJanuary 29, 2021 at 02:41AM
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2021/01/28/detroit-red-wings-covid-players-robby-fabbri-filip-zadina/4295746001/
For Detroit Red Wings players under COVID protocol, return back may not be all smooth - Detroit Free Press
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