Dubnyk doesn't believe players will agree to play 2020-21 season in bubble

The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs were a complete success for the NHL, as they were able to get through two months in their hub cities, Edmonton and Toronto, without a single positive COVID-19 test. Despite it working out as the league had hoped however, it was very tough on the players as they were forced to be away from their families for a long period of time and were essentially on lockdown while in the bubble.

Recently acquired San Jose Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk thinks there is no chance that players around the league would be on board to do it all over again for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

“I don't think anybody is signing up to do another 60 days or anything extended like that,” Dubnyk told NBC Sports California's Brodie Brazil. “It's really tough.”

Dubnyk, 34, spent roughly one week in the NHL's bubble this summer with his former team, the Minnesota Wild. Other teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars, who played each other in the Stanley Cup Final, had to spend two months in the bubble. The long time NHL veteran netminder believes that the NHL can find other ways to operate, similar to what the MLB and NFL have done.

“I don't think guys will want to do that, or should be put in a position to do that,” he said. “No other sport is, and it's not necessary to do that. It's not what we signed up for, and not what anybody is really prepared to do. There's so many players with young families, that's just really hard.”

As of now, the NHL has yet to decide on what they will do for the 2020-21 season, although they have reportedly discussed the idea of using a hybrid bubble system. This would involve players being on a rotation, spending two weeks inside a bubble and then one week at home before reentering. This is a tricky situation for both sides, as you can understand why league officials want to continue with a bubble to keep everyone safe, but it is also easy to realize why the players would not be accepting of doing this all over again. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

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