As the NHL’s Phase Two begins, the Blues will stay home for now

The NHL announced that the league has approved phase two of the re-opening of the league to begin on Monday, June 8th. According to the league:

Beginning June 8 — subject to each Club’s satisfaction of all of the requirements set out in the Phase 2 Protocol — Clubs will be permitted to reopen their training facilities in their home city to allow players to participate in individualized training activities (off-ice and on-ice). Players will be participating on a voluntary basis and will be scheduled to small groups (i.e., a maximum of six Players at any one time, plus a limited number of Club staff). The various measures set out in the Phase 2 Protocol are intended to provide players with a safe and controlled environment in which to resume their conditioning.

It’s not a league wide opening, and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is telling his players to hold off. As Armstrong told the Post-Dispatch:

“I have talked with the players and they will tell us when they think we should open. If they feel comfortable training as they are (currently), they should. When they want us to open, we will.”

According to the P-D, only about ten players remain in St. Louis. Two players, Oskar Sundqvist and Jacob de la Rose, are in Sweden.

If players have concerns about beginning workouts, it may be due to the fact that St. Louis County and St. Louis City lead the state in COVID-19 infections. The resumption of workouts isn’t mandatory, and Armstrong has advised his players to wait until closer to the proposed mid-July phase three start date.