The NHL fining the Washington Capitals shows just how arbitrary their COVID rules are

Players are going to share sweaty embraces and fight, but hotel rooms are off limits.

The NHL levied its first major fine for violating COVID-19 protocols against the Washington Capitals Wednesday evening, dinging the club $100,000 after being informed that players were socializing outside of permitted areas without wearing face coverings.

Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov all violated the NHL’s protocol on a recent road trip, when they gathered together in a hotel room without wearing masks. On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that goaltender Samsonov tested positive for coronavirus. All four Russians will miss at least the next four games before being evaluated further, head coach Peter Laviolette said.

The situation with the Capitals is a mess, but it’s also just the most recent reminder that the NHL’s long, long list of COVID protocols are an inconsistent quagmire that, two weeks into the season, don’t seem to be working.

Before the season even started, the NHL announced that 17 Dallas Stars players and staff members had tested positive for COVID. The positive tests delayed the Stars season opener, causing a ripple effect of 10 rescheduled games and pushing the end date of the season back by two days. On the first day of the NHL season, the league already had 22 players (not counting the Stars) placed on the COVID protocol list. In addition to the Stars and the Capitals, the NHL announced on Wednesday that as a result of the Carolina Hurricanes having five players on the COVID list, a game would be postponed, and their facilities closed while the matter was investigated further.

In all this, the Capitals are the only team, so far, to be fined. The fine though, isn’t the core issue. What the Capitals’ punishment really illustrates is the arbitrary nature of the system set up by the NHL, one in which players bare an unfair burden of responsibility in trying to maintain safety standards.

Going through the massive NHL coronavirus rule book, the Capitals probably violated a few of the COVID protocols, since many are broad and could apply in multiple instances. Per the NHL, “Club personnel (including Players) are discouraged from socializing with one another in close
contact while at (and outside of) the Club’s facilities.” The NHL also states that, “any socializing that does occur shall be done in a distanced manner, while wearing face coverings.”

If that wasn’t clear enough, the NHL has a broader missive for traveling parties, sayin “each member of the Club’s Traveling Party will be required to stay in a single occupancy room, and no individual shall permit guests or other personnel in their room,” with the exception of maid service.

These are restrictive rules that force players who are allowed to shower together, share arena bathrooms, water bottles and sweaty on-ice hugs, to make arbitrary distinctions over “safe behavior” without acknowledging that the enterprise they’ve chosen to undertake is inherently risky.  Strict rules applied to off-ice behavior make it seem like what happens on the ice isn’t of consequence, when clearly players panting in each others faces 60 minutes at a time is the most dangerous behavior of all.

In addition to the no fraternizing rule, the NHL has a long list of micromanaging edicts that provide little to no benefit, all outlined in their COVID manual. For example, while traveling, “Except to use lavatories members of the Traveling Party shall remain seated for the duration of the flight.” Players on flights should also “avoid eating and drinking at the same time as others in the row.” Clubs are also encouraged to get private elevators for players in hotels, so they don’t share germs with other hotel guests. While outside in a city, all players “shall not engage in close contact or interactions with individuals from the general public.” Players also aren’t allowed to sit in hotel lobbies or restaurants, and while they are allowed to sit in a “dedicated common area or lounge” they can’t congregate in a single hotel room.

The NHL’s COVID rules and subsequent fine to the Washington Capitals are an effort to impose control on a virus that has, so far, resisted control. The past examples of the NFL and MLB, plus what’s currently happening in the NBA, should show the league that trying to manage off-ice behavior isn’t a panacea.

The fines imposed on the Capitals make it seem like the positive tests are a result of personal failures, when in fact the entire system is structured to help players fail. As cases spiral out of control, regardless of who is hanging out with who in hotel rooms, players personal actions seem to have minimal benefit. Yes they can wear masks and isolate, but the risk will always be present.

The NHL fining players for being in a hotel room together unmasked shows just how desperate the league is to maintain a narrative of control. The truth is that aside from a bubble atmosphere, outbreaks will happen. This is not an issue that can be controlled by player behavior, not in the system that the NHL has set up. The NHL knows this, and penalizing players for occasional laxness simply shifts the burden of responsibility.