NHL expects 98 per cent of players to be vaccinated before season
CTV
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday the NHL expects 98% of players to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the start of the season.
Perhaps because of that, the New York Rangers defenseman is not surprised that almost the entire league is expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the time the season begins on Oct. 12. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly estimates that 98% of players will be vaccinated, leaving between 10 and 15 players without among roughly 700 on 32 teams across North America.
"People can make their own decisions, but the right one would be to get vaccinated," Trouba said Thursday at the annual NHL/NHLPA player media tour. "I think it's great that it's come this way, and hopefully we get 15 more guys vaccinated."
The league and NHL Players' Association did not impose a vaccine mandate on players, but restrictions -- including the potential of not being able to cross the border from the U.S. into Canada without a lengthy quarantine -- contributed to the number.
"We weren't really trying to convince each other one way or the other," Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty said. "But then I think when the NHL released that statement that you lose pay and stuff like that, that kind of changed some guys' minds."
