David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase were irresponsible. There is no other way to say, write or express it. Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy played down any anger or excitement over the release of the social media photos, which showed Pastrnak and Kase rolling around town, Kase without a mask. They were in public even though they were both quarantined, but that’s not the full story.
Not everyone downplayed Pastrnak’s actions this week. A source within the Bruins organization had harsh words for BHN, as the source expressed disappointment at the players’ actions, even if the coach declined. However, the source said that the Bruins’ core leadership was addressing the situation.
“They’re already at it,” the source told Boston Hockey Now Friday.
However, there was no disciplinary action.
On Sunday, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney referred to the situation and, while expressing his forgiveness and understanding for the breakup quarantine of Pastrnak and Kase in an ever-evolving and educational process, hinted that a public apology and / or explanation of the two Czech extremes would be nice.
So far, there have been no statements from any of the players regarding the social media photos showing that they are breaking the quarantine. Sweeney himself apologized for the league’s mandatory explanation of “not fit to play” for the absences that the Bruins and all NHL teams must give.
“The players came from different backgrounds where things were not at the same level of concerns that you might or might not have,” said Sweeney. “So you have to assimilate to what is necessary for our environment and that is part of the balancing act here. We have protocols that the league has come up with and have been operating under each of them, but we also have guidelines that Massachusetts requires in Boston and the Boston Department of Public Health.
So it’s a balancing act here for players along those fronts and sometimes players have to react after the fact when you have things that don’t go well for you and I think that’s probably the case here. We all apologize. I wait for you [media] I understand (according to league rules) we respectfully have to reject more information regarding players who have not been on the ice. That was what was collectively negotiated and we apologize for that, but if the player wants to come out after the fact and explain it, and we’ve seen some league players who have been frank in that situation, but we didn’t order that, we didn’t dictate that. . We have to follow the guidelines and we have done it perfectly, as well as trying to continue educating the entire team. This has been an educational process at all times and will continue to be so. ”
It’s nice that Sweeney slides that hidden message in there for Pastrnak and Kase to act together, but from Bruins winger Brad Marchand joking about Pastrnak’s absence on Saturday until each player basically ignores what his teammates did, one has to wonder if and when serious implications that his actions have on and off the ice will be established for the Bruins.
Breaking quarantine, or not wearing a mask, or denying the other things that most of us are trying to do to protect others in this unprecedented global pandemic, are not limited to one political or demographic party.
Just walk around your neighborhood, local park, or downtown. You’ll find a broad cross-section of people who reject safety measures, which apparently included highly-paid athletes with a lot to lose.
There is no overreaction to the actions of Pastrnak and Kase, but unfortunately there seems to be a lack of action. No one, including Pastrnak and Kase, should have been offended if Marchand or another player rated the teams with both right wings for their careless and selfish actions, but sadly that seems to be the stigma we are trapped with here.
Bigger implications
In fact, the entire story has the potential to be the iceberg that Captain Edward Smith did not avoid, just before the Titanic sank. The David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase Gaffe have the potential to be the equivalent of hockey’s comeback.
This situation differs from the Pittsburgh penguin group. In Pittsburgh, nine mostly AHL and depth players were voluntarily quarantined after a secondary exposure, which resulted from someone else’s bad luck or irresponsible behavior.
We cannot know, but the coincidence should be noted. Shortly after David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase were revealed by social media, five more Boston Bruins were pushed into the “not fit to play” category, bringing the total number to nine.
Five more.
We are not counting goalkeeper Tuuka Rask, who is suffering from a hand injury.
Forwards David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Charlie Coyle, Chris Wagner were also “not fit to play” on Saturday. So was defender Torey Krug. Forward Joakim Nordstrom also spent a day off the track and ‘not fit to play’ as well.
Some of those players could be injured, or even all of them could be injuries. Still, five injuries in the days following the new information would be even worse luck than the Columbus Blue Jackets suffered this season.
And very unlikely.
“Every time players miss a session where we expect them to return to top speed until he’s out there, then it’s a concern for us as a team,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “But we are going to move on.”
The individual consequences of Pastrnak’s actions is an additional quarantine, which puts him further back and out of shape. The Bruins are a heavy team, and a gassed Pastrnak would cascade through the lineup. The NHL co-winner of the Rocker Richard Trophy with 48 goals will miss at least half of the Phase 3 training ground, if not all. Or more.
Pastrnak’s agent JP Barry publicly stated that his player tested negative. That’s good, but it can also take a while for that nasty little bug to appear.
A week later, all nine Pittsburgh players are still in quarantine. So don’t expect Pastrnak and Kase to get out of quarantine that easily. Or any other Bruins who are being isolated due to possible contact with quarantined individuals.
The domino effects go far beyond being out of shape for the Stanley Cup quest that the Boston Bruins have singularly focused on throughout the season. Irresponsible actions possibly led other players to the same situation, since they also have to quarantine without hockey activity. There is a possibility that some players may not be ready for Game 1 of the NHL Playoffs.
In the pandemic, all we know is that we really don’t know.
The greatest potential collective impact of the Bruins player’s actions could be losing his Stanley Cup shot and forcing the league and NHLPA to make a difficult decision. Phase 3/4 protocols allow suspension of play if one or more teams are unfit to play due to an outbreak, or if too many players are under quarantine.
Last week Patrice Bergeron made the public proclamation to his team.
“The professionalism is going to be enormous. We need to trust everyone for this to work, ”he said. “Right now, in phase 3, you can go home, and we are not going to take care of your whereabouts and all that. So it’s trusting each other and making sure everyone is doing the right thing … I think it’s the most important thing, to be professional about it, to be smart and to use common sense. “
Without thinking, David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase kicked Pandora’s box harder than a 48-yard Adam Vinatieri to win the Super Bowl.
Hopefully it stays closed and we don’t find out what’s inside.
