The Montreal Canadiens have added forwards Joel Armia and Cole Caufield to the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol.
Les attaquants Joel Armia et Cole Caufield ont été placés aujourd’hui sur le protocole de la COVID-19 de la LNH.
Forwards Joel Armia and Cole Caufield were placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list today. pic.twitter.com/mClmhZwzkr
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 18, 2022
Both players played in Monday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, which the Canadiens lost 5-2. Both Armia and Caufield have previously had the virus. Armia was added to the NHL’s protocol last season and had a false positive in the playoffs. Caufield had it while at the University of Wisconsin.
With the rise of the Omicron variant, it is increasingly possible that people previously infected and vaccinated can return a positive test. Of course, you can be added to the NHL’s protocol for several reasons, including a close contact testing positive. It doesn’t mean these players tested positive.
UPDATE, 1:09 pm: The Canadiens have confirmed that both players returned positive tests.
Canadiens advise Caufield and Armia have tested positive for Covid
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 18, 2022
How quickly they can return will depend on why they entered protocol and how quickly they can return consecutive negative tests.
The Canadiens play the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. The team has forwards Cédric Paquette, Michael Pezzetta on the active roster, plus Lukas Vejdemo on the taxi squad.
