Hurricanes head to Toronto and life in a ‘bubble’ with goal of winning Stanley Cup
Jaccob Slavin gave his wife and daughter a big hug Sunday. Others also said a long goodbye to their families and loved ones.
The Carolina Hurricanes have some work to do in Toronto.
For how long? No one can say. Maybe weeks, maybe months. But the Canes are hoping they’ll come back to Raleigh as the 2020 Stanley Cup champions.
Or as Canes captain Jordan Staal said Saturday, “With a ring around the finger.”
The Canes left PNC Arena on Sunday afternoon to the sound of honking horns and cheering from fans who circled the arena with their cars. Many fans were in Canes sweaters and had homemade signs and the mood was festive, much like the gatherings for a home playoff game. Even Hamilton the Pig was there.
Imagine how crazy the scene would be if there’s another Cup to celebrate.
For the coaches, players and staff, it’s an unprecedented professional challenge involving personal sacrifice. After being homebodies the past four months because of the coronavirus pandemic, each of those in the Canes’ travel party will feel some separation sadness once in Toronto.
Slavin and his wife, Kylie, have a young daughter, Emersyn, who will miss her Daddy.
“It’s going to be tough, not going to be fun,” Slavin said Saturday in a media call. “Obviously these past four months have been awesome being able to watch her grow and spend so much time with her and my wife. So being apart an indefinite amount of time will be tough.
“It is what it is. It’s our job. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to go out there and win hockey games but also take care of the family as well.”
The Canes, after finishing up two weeks of training camp, had an afternoon flight Sunday to Toronto, where they will enter the NHL’s protective “bubble” and secure zone with 11 other Eastern Conference teams. They’ll be tested for COVID-19 each day, with strict health and safety precautions being taken in Phase 4 of the league’s Return to Play plan.
“Our goal in this entire endeavor is to be perfect,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday in a media call. “But we’re not living in a world of perfect. We’re going to do everything we can to make things as good as they can be.”
The Canes’ 31-player Phase 4 roster was released on Sunday by the NHL. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Saturday the roster would include defenseman Brett Pesce, who is recovering from shoulder surgery in early March and was not at camp.
Pesce may not begin skating or be medically cleared for contact until late August. But the Canes put him on the postseason list and hope he’ll get to play in the postseason.
There’s also the matter of defenseman Dougie Hamilton. He missed the final two training camp practices after leaving the ice Wednesday in some discomfort and his status moving forward is unclear.
The Canes are scheduled to practice Monday and Tuesday. They then will play their only exhibition game, Wednesday against the Washington Capitals.
“Get the rust off and really gauge where we’re at as a group,” Brind’Amour said Saturday.
Then it’s on to the best-of-five qualifying round against the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2020 version of postseason during a pandemic. Game 1 is scheduled Saturday, with a noon start at Scotiabank Arena.
The Canes reached the Eastern Conference finals last season, grinding out series wins against the Caps and Islanders before losing to the Boston Bruins. In the playoffs, every win seems monumental, every loss a gut punch.
“Most of the guys from last year know what it takes to win games in the playoffs and being as sharp as you can on every play,” Staal said. “That could be the difference in a series and especially a five-game series.”
The Canes and Rangers will share the same hotel in Toronto, the Fairmont Royal York, bringing Staal and brother Marc, a Rangers defenseman, close together off the ice. But there will be be no socializing, even among brothers, during the lockdown.
Or handshakes at the end of the series. During a pandemic, that surely will be a hockey tradition that will stop this year. But one Staal brother will move on after the series, his Cup chances still alive, and the other will leave Toronto disappointed.
“Playoffs have always been difficult for our family,” Jordan Staal said. “It’s been a while since our families ran into that. It’s going to be fun, that’s all I’m going to say.”
And being away from his own family, in Raleigh? FaceTime calls will help. If the Canes make it to the conference finals they then can be joined by their families, but it’s a lot of time away.
“Not a fun feeling,” Staal said. “Every run and win of the Stanley Cup comes with sacrifices.”
CANES-RANGERS QUALIFYING ROUND
(best of five)
Game 1: Saturday, Aug. 1, 12 p.m.
Game 2: Monday, Aug. 3, 12 p.m.
Game 3: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 8 p.m.
*Game 4: Thursday, Aug. 6, TBD
*Game 5: Saturday, Aug. 8, TBD
* -- If necessary
This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 2:19 PM.
