NHL Has Only 4 Unvaccinated Players at Start of 2021-22 Season, Gary Bettman Says

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Only four NHL players remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, per commissioner Gary Bettman.

“Everybody banding together to do the right thing,” Bettman said Tuesday from the league’s season opener between the Pittsburgh Penguins and host Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Maybe that’s why hockey is the ultimate team sport.”

Per ESPN News Services, Bettman also revealed that all NHL officials and personnel who contact players are vaccinated.

The NHL has instituted significant restrictions and drawbacks for players who remain unvaccinated, as Chris Bumbaca of USA Today reported Tuesday:

“A team has the right to suspend and dock the pay of an unvaccinated player if he’s unable to play because of a local, state or federal government’s rules. Unvaccinated players have to quarantine while on the road and face greater mask-wearing and social-distancing requirements. They must get tested every day, compared with every three days for vaccinated players.”

The NHL now has 32 teams with the debut of the Seattle Kraken. Each team carries a 23-man-roster, meaning that 732 of the league’s 736 players are vaccinated (99.45 percent).

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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