Jamie Nye: ‘Not fit to play’ is a bad play by the NHL

Get used to hearing “not fit to play” from the NHL.

If you thought the growing use of upper and lower body injury was getting ridiculous, the NHL is taking it one step further to prevent us from really knowing how many players are testing positive with COVID-19.

Again, citing players’ privacy, the league wants coaches, players and managers to just simply say a player is not fit to play no matter if it’s a hangnail, ankle injury, concussion or COVID-19.

The reason is less about player privacy, as Auston Matthews had no problem explaining his positive test from a few weeks ago, and more so it’ll make it harder for us to track just how many players are testing positive.

You hide that number, the less pressure you’ll get from halting or pausing the back-to-work tournament.

However, this will cause more headaches because sports fans and media are collectively great at speculation. And speculation should be the last thing the NHL wants in regards to the numbers of players testing positive.

When it comes to a global pandemic, it’s best to be as open and honest as possible.