from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

Broadcast compatriot Kevin Bieksa caused a stir when he went on Sportsnet 650 Vancouver and said, “A lot of friends that I have and a lot of people that I’ve talked to that are going to be playing, they still don’t have their equipment, they still haven’t skated, they’re still very skeptical.

“They haven’t been told anything by their team, so I’m skeptical. I obviously want hockey back. I’d love to cover some games and watch it on TV and get everything back to normal, but I wouldn’t jump the gun if I were the fans. I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much yet…. There’s so much to figure out.”

I think we’re going to learn a lot over the next two weeks. The NHL and NHLPA continue grinding away towards an agreement on safety protocol for Phase III (training camp) and Phase IV (games), in addition to the CBA. With camps scheduled for July 10, the players’ vote on this is targeted for the end of June. I don’t know if there will be two separate decisions (one for protocols and one for CBA) or one big, all-encompassing ballot, but it’s expected each player will get an individual vote. So we’re going to get the answers to Kevin’s questions.

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