Asymptomatic NHL players and staff will no longer be tested by the league following the All-Star break, sources told ESPN.
According to ESPN, the NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement on the matter. The league will still test players and staff before cross-border travel between the US and Canada. Symptomatic players will still be tested.
The league was testing players daily during a harsh December that saw games delayed due to COVID-19 outbreaks caused by the Omicron variant. The league has since reduced isolation periods for positive tests from 10 days to five days.
The NHL All-Star Weekend goes from Feb. 4 - 5. Players will be tested upon arrival, but not throughout the weekend, a source told ESPN.
"At the end of the day, our players are testing positive with very little symptoms, if any symptoms at all," Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman said in December. "I don't see it as a threat to their health at this point. So I think we need to take it a step further and question why are we even testing guys that have no symptoms."
73 percent of players have tested positive this season.
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