Max Domi back with his teammates
The return of the National Hockey League is rapidly approaching with teams preparing to get back to business in order to conclude the 2019-20 campaign. The league has been suspended since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some players have remained skeptical about the league’s plans to keep them safe and whether the bubble-system will actually work.
Montreal Canadiens’ forward Max Domi refused to commit to returning when the league had initially announced their plans, suggesting he would need more time to think about the decision. Domi is in the high-risk category due to the fact he is a Type 1 diabetic with celiac disease.
On Monday though, he was back skating with his teammates in Brossard, Quebec, getting ready to make a run for the Stanley Cup. Following practice, he spoke to media about how he had ultimately made his decision.
“A lot of extensive conversations with doctors, both on my end and the team’s end and the league
e and the NHLPA as well,” said the forward in a Zoom media scrum on Tuesday, via TSN. “My agent was pretty involved with that. I think It was just a matter of time until we had enough stuff that we could move forward with it and I think it helped. The Canadiens are outstanding, very open minded to make this work.”
While Domi understands that his health condition puts him at a higher risk than most others who will be entering the NHL bubble, he also acknowledged that returning to play is a risk for everyone involved – including those with no pre-existing conditions.
“It’s a risk for everyone,” said Domi. “Not just the players, not just our team, it’s every team involved, the training staff, coaching staff and hockey ops. It’s a whole pandemic, globally. Everyone is at risk here.”
Domi also vowed to do whatever he could to ensure his own safety and the safety of others, despite having limited control over the matter.
“Personally all I can do is make sure I’m doing everything on my end to keep my blood sugars very stable,” said Domi on the potential risks. “Made the decision, here now and I’m not going to change that.”
In his second season with the Canadiens, Domi had 17 goals and 27 assists after 71 games before the league was halted. He had 28 goals and 44 assists last season with the club.
Montreal sat in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 71 points from 71 games prior to play being suspended and would likely have missed out on the playoffs altogether had the league not been forced to change their format due to the current conditions. Instead of just eight teams in each conference reaching the postseason like normal, the NHL has opted to have a play-in round featuring teams placed between fifth and 12th in each conference. The Canadiens just made the cut, sitting in 12th spot.
The Montreal Canadiens are scheduled to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best-of-five play-in round series when the league returns. The first game of the series is slated to take place on August 1st at 8 p.m. ET.
