“Buy-in”: a term we hear often in sport.
The team that “buys in” to the system, to their respective roles, to team culture will find success.
This has never been more true or needed than right now as the NHL attempts to return to play in a pandemic.
The league has undergone a phased-in approach to return to play, which includes four phases.
As training camps open, the NHL transitions from Phase 2 — voluntary, individual and small group training in club facilities — to Phase 3, organized training camp activities in preparation for the resumption of competition.
As players, coaches and team personnel come together for the first time as a complete group, their ability to buy into every single protocol put in place by the NHL is non-negotiable.
Temperature checks, education sessions, physical distancing at all times in and out of club facilities — with only on-ice practices and medical encounters as the exceptions — and players will wear masks where physical distancing can not be maintained.
The execution of Phase 3 is pivotal as it’s this group of individuals that will participate in Phase 4. A roster of no more than 31 players and a total of 52 persons from each competing club will travel to the secure zone — more commonly known as the NHL bubble — in the respective hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto.
In order for the bubble not to burst, those entering it will have bought into Phase 3 and laid the foundation for healthy hockey cleared of COVID-19.
Neither the NHL nor the teams involved have competed against a more formidable foe than the virus.
And if the NHL has any chance of completing the season and awarding the Stanley Cup, no opt-out clause is available. Everyone involved must buy in.