NHL Players Now Permitted to Return Home

This morning, the NHL issued a directive to its players which allows them to return home, which is the exact opposite of what was reported only yesterday where the players were requested to self-quarantine in their NHL city.

According to the NHL’s latest memo, players are now permitted to return home (wherever that is) but have been told to self-quarantine until the end of March. Obviously, this story is moving at a lightning pace and ever-evolving so it’s not exactly surprising that the NHL has changed its mind on allowing players to go home. Even as I post this, Prime Minister Trudeau just made the announcement that the Canadian border will soon be closed to non-citizens and that adds a real sense of urgency for a lot of players to be able to get home to their families. From a hockey perspective, the developments over the past couple of days really make it seem like there’s a minimal chance that this season will be able to resume any time soon, and it honestly feels like it would take a miracle to get the boys back on the ice.

Looking at the Oilers’ NHL roster, the following players are from countries outside of Canada and I hope that all of them are able to get home quickly and safely:

Needless to say, the story will continue to change countless times over the coming hours, days, and weeks and I’m thinking that this post will probably be redundant by the end of the day.