Cassidy on Bruins' Bout with COVID-19: 'Nobody's Become Severely Ill'

BostonBruins.com - Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy delivered an encouraging update on Tuesday morning, telling the media that none of the club's players currently in COVID-19 protocol have "become severely ill" and that most have continued to show either mild or no symptoms.
Boston currently has 10 players and two staffers in protocol with Brandon Carlo joining Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Taylor Hall, Craig Smith, Curtis Lazar, Anton Blidh, Trent Frederic, Jeremy Swayman, and Oskar Steen on the list just ahead of Cassidy's mid-morning remarks.

"Nobody even close to being hospitalized or anything like that," Cassidy said via Zoom from his home office. "I haven't talked to everybody every day, but nobody's become severely ill. A couple of guys had a few symptoms, other guys none. I anticipate everybody that's eligible that meets that 10 day [quarantine] - or, I understand, you can test out of it if you have a couple negatives - then they will join us on the ice on the 26th for practice, I believe, and then the 27th at home against Pittsburgh."
Cassidy said that given the current restrictions for travelers to enter Canada - the country requires 15 days to have passed since being diagnosed with COVID-19 - some of the players in protocol may not be available to join the team for the B's contest with the Senators in Ottawa on Dec. 29.
"You might see a different lineup in Ottawa than against Pittsburgh," said Cassidy, who recently got through a bout of COVID-19 himself. "The guys that went in recently - Carlo, Hall, Lazar - I don't believe are eligible for Pittsburgh unless they test out. I think the other guys would be."
The NHL announced on Monday evening that the annual Christmas Break would be extended and moved up with COVID-19 wreaking havoc across the league, leading to dozens of postponements over the past week. The plan as of now is to pause the 2021-22 season beginning on Tuesday night before resuming operations on Sunday, Dec. 26.
At that point, teams will be able to return to their training facilities to restart COVID-19 testing and on-ice practices. The new schedule allows the Bruins a day of practice ahead of their home game against the Penguins on Dec. 27, which will come 11 days after their final game before the shutdown - a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders last Thursday night.
So far, the Bruins have had four games (Dec. 18 at Montreal, Dec. 19 at Ottawa, Dec. 21 vs. Carolina, and Dec. 23 vs. Colorado) postponed.
"Having been through this a number of times now over the last couple years, I believe most players have probably found a routine for themselves, at least doing some off-ice training," said Cassidy. "You're not gonna make it up in one day of practice. We're fortunate to get that day. Originally, we weren't gonna have it, we were gonna get right into playing. It will be nice that they did slot in one practice day on the 26th.
"Most teams are in the same boat, have been out for a while, some a little less. We closed down a little sooner than a few. But still, once you're off for five, six days, there's not much of a difference from seven or eight days to five or six days."
Cassidy noted that the players have gotten used to dealing with these types of challenges, given that this is the third time the team has been shut down and forced away from any on-ice activity or off-ice training at the club's facility since the pandemic began in March 2020. Boston's bench boss also added that there are less lockdown restrictions outside of the rink given the progress that vaccines have allowed, which will make it easier for the players to stay sharp both physically and mentally during the extended time off.
"There's a little more freedom now than there was," said Cassidy. "It's different than a year ago. The vaccine wasn't available nor were boosters so you were seeing a lot more hospitalizations; you were worried about guys interaction with anybody. Now the guys, all our players and staff are vaccinated. I feel like that has a lot to do with why guys aren't requiring hospitalizations or extended stays where they're not able to get up and move around.
"I think that's the one thing that's better from a year ago is players can get up and move around. They're feeling healthy. Obviously, they've got to stay away from people. But by the same token, I think they see the light at the end of the tunnel a lot better now than they maybe would have a year ago with numbers…that's the better news with the players."

An Early Ending

The Bruins announced on Tuesday morning that defenseman Jakub Zboril suffered a torn ACL in his right knee on Dec. 2 in Nashville. The blue liner underwent successful surgery, performed by head team physician Dr. Peter Asnis at Mass. General Brigham on Dec. 16, likely ending his season.
Zboril was just beginning to establish himself as a regular in the Bruins' lineup and had notched three assists in 10 games with the Black & Gold this season, his second full campaign with the big club.
"I went through that injury twice," said Cassidy. "Today's modern medicine, he should have an easier rehab and be fine coming out of it…he was playing good hockey for us, kind of earned a spot in the lineup on a regular basis. You'd hope that, because he was playing with a little more confidence and a little more certainty in his game every night, that it would've only gotten better.
"Unfortunate for him and the team, obviously. He's gonna be done for the year. Hopefully there's no complications in his rehabilitation and he can help us again next year."

Where Things Stand

Through 26 games, the Bruins have yet to hit their stride, though they still hold the eighth-best points percentage in the Eastern Conference. At 14-10-2, Boston has 30 points, placing them three points back of Detroit for the East's final playoff spot. The Bruins, however, have five games in hand on the Red Wings and at least three games in hand on every team ahead of them in the conference.
"Typically, we've been at the top of the division battling with Tampa and Toronto. That's not the case this year," said Cassidy. "Obviously, that's where we want to be. But by the same token, we've added five new faces plus faces at the deadline last year that were basically just coming in getting ready to play.There wasn't a ton of integration going on then.
"We've had a lot of turnover on our team. We expected a few bumps in the road. We've just got to iron them out in the second half - not even the second half because we've only played 26 games."
Cassidy believes that once the Bruins come out of their run-in with COVID-19, they will be in good position to start building their game, a process that appeared to be in motion on the club's Western Canada road trip earlier this month during which they collected five of a possible six points.
"We've got to find a way to generate more looks offensively while still keeping our identity as a team," said Cassidy. "That's our job as coaches to get guys feeling good about their game and that's their job as players to buy into what it takes to win those close games and generate a little bit more…I still think we're a solid team.
"But we're not where Tampa is right now and that's fine. We have 56 games to get there and that's our job to make sure we get better as we go along."
Cassidy said that, for the most part, he has been pleased with the team's defensive and special teams performances, but is still looking for more when it comes to the offensive end. Boston ranks 23rd in the NHL with a 2.69 goals per game.
"A little inconsistency at times," said Cassidy. "Obviously team defense, I think, has been solid from Day 1. Specials teams, I think are good. They can get a little better if they want to be where we've been historically, but still pretty solid. For us, it's putting the puck in the net. We've generated opportunities. We need to generate more high-end opportunities. We started doing a better job with that maybe not the last two games but the previous eight or 10 before that, getting the inside ice."

A World of Hurt

Given the uncertainty surrounding the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic and the turbulence it has caused throughout the NHL this week, multiple reports have surfaced saying that the league's participation in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing may be in serious jeopardy. Cassidy is slated to be a member of Team Canada's coaching staff at the games as an assistant under Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper.
"I know there's some discussion about whether the players are going or not," said Cassidy. "Obviously, as I said before, to represent your country is an honor. You're with the best players in the world, you're playing against the best players in the world, you're around the best athletes in the world. The whole entirety of it for me would be memories you'd never forget. But I don't know if they're gonna go or not.
"I'd be very disappointed. I've never been as most people haven't. I was really looking forward to it…I'm gonna hope they find a way to get it done. If not, hopefully down the road there will be another opportunity."
Cassidy said that preparations were continuing as normal as of last week when he met with both Cooper and fellow Team Canada assistant Barry Trotz.
"We've done some prep work," said Cassidy. "I spoke with Coop last week. We were continuing on like we were gonna head over there in February. I don't know if anything has changed in that regard yet but I'm sure there will be an announcement if there is. We're planning on continuing to prepare until we're told differently."