Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who has served as an alternate captain for the U.S. men’s hockey team at three World Championships, expressed concern regarding quarantine possibilities during the Olympics.
NHL players are scheduled to participate in the 2022 Beijing Games, which begin Feb. 4. Though guidelines have not been finalized, there have been reports that players could be required to quarantine up to five weeks if they test positive.
“It would be very unfortunate for anybody to get stuck in quarantine for that long and a serious unknown of when you’d come home,” Larkin said Wednesday. “I think it’s unfortunate for all athletes.”
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The Wings have watched their own players and players around the league enter protocol all season, but that is a 10-day stay, either in the U.S. or Canada.
“I think there’s a lot going on right now,” Larkin said. “We’re dealing with COVID here. We’ve had calls and talks and you guys read the reports on what it could be like in China and that’s unfortunate.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said it is up to players to decide if they want to pull out of the Olympics. That can be done without financial penalty before Jan. 10.
The Wings already have one player named to go: Defenseman Moritz Seider was among Germany’s first three preliminary selections. Lucas Raymond was left off Sweden’s early roster submission but has certainly earned a spot with 25 points in 29 games; that ranks fifth among Swedish players in the NHL.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.