NHL Players' Association chief Don Fehr told The Associated Press that he expects teams will be cleared to open their training facilities to allow player workouts as early as next week.
Though there is no definitive timeline, Fehr said the possibility of teams opening their training facilities to players will be included in a joint memo the league and union plan to issue on Friday. The memo will provide players with guidelines on what to expect after the league on Thursday elected to suspend the final month of its regular season.
In the meantime, Fehr said players have been asked to spend the weekend at home to avoid risk of being infected by the new coronavirus.
The additional time off over the weekend also would provide teams more opportunity to cleanse their facilities.
"I think we're in the 'Let's relax and take stock of where we are first,''' Fehr said by phone from the NHLPA offices in Toronto. "I think the initial phase is a few days, whether it turns out to be two or three or five or six, we're not going to know yet. And we'll be constantly in touch with the NHL and constantly reevaluating.''
