from Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald,

...Monday’s memo was a tad sobering, especially with the warning in the introduction that the extensive protocol “cannot mitigate all risk. A range of clinical scenarios exist, from very mild to fatal outcome.” The memo goes on to say that the virus mostly affects those in an older age bracket and people with pre-existing conditions, but that was an eye-catcher.

The protocol is nothing if not comprehensive. According to the league’s framework to move into “Phase Two” or the Return to Play plan, which the league hopes to institute by early June (there is no firm date yet), the voluntary workouts are limited to six players at a time with no coaches on the ice, a kind of coronavirus captain’s practice....

The hope, of course, is that Phase 2 goes off without a hitch — or a minimum of hitches — and the league can move on to Phase 3, which are the training camps, and then ultimately Phase 4, which would be the 24-team playoff tournament.

On Friday, that seemed tantalizingly close. And if all goes right, maybe we will be seeing some July hockey. Again, if all goes right.

But the lengthy nature of Monday’s memo, while detailing the abundance of care which the league is using, also highlights how easily it can all go wrong.

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