“Masks slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, but also help to protect the people wearing them,” Zink said. “COVID is new and we are still learning a lot about the long-term health impacts, even in young athletes. A mask can help protect their long-term health as well.”

The NHL is planning for what could be an unusual 2020-21 season with the goal of returning to normal in 2021-22.Tennessee Titans for NHL Face Masks

A four-year extension to the CBA was agreed to in July, along with a "return to play" plan that allowed the 2019-20 season to finish. Now, however, the sides are trying to agree to a plan to begin the 2020-21 season. Talks have stalled since owners told players that they were looking for additional cash flow, knowing they are going to absorb big financial losses kick-starting the season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and likely without full arena capacity.Miami Dolphins for NHL Face Masks

Alaska’s lead doctors now strongly recommend wearing face coverings for sports, especially for indoor sports, including playing basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, and playing hockey and indoor soccer. That same strong recommendation for mask wearing goes for adults working out, running on treadmills, or exercising in other ways in indoor gyms. The exception? Swimmers can’t wear a mask when their faces are in the water (but they do need to wear one on the pool deck).

"I have fabric, I have a machine. Obviously, we have a lot of time on our hands," she said. "So I put all of these things to good use. I looked up a tutorial and figured out a way to make these things and I started making them as fast as I could. Word kind of spread and I've got nurses, doctors and a lot of essential workers randomly contacting me. It's good, I have been able to donate those and get those out to those first-line workers. People from our (Blackhawks) staff and friends and family have actually been good about donating to the Blackhawks' COVID-19 Response Fund for the masks that I have made them."

"I use social media: Instagram and Facebook," she said. "My friends and family have been really good about passing it along. That has gotten me to be able to chat with a lot of people I haven't gotten to chat with in a lot of years. So I am kind of reconnecting with people and getting these masks out to people who need to go to the grocery store or need to go to the gas station. Especially those who may be living alone or may have some underlying health issue...it has been good to help them."

"I have adult masks and child masks. It's kind of good with the ties," she said. "You can tie it as tight as you want it. The child mask is smaller. They are all the same pattern, but the fabric is completely random. I just used extra fabric that I had from other quilts that I have made. So the masks don't necessarily match. They are reversible. Whatever I had was what I sent out. I was worried at first that people weren't going to like them. But it didn't matter if they like (the appearance) or not, they need them. But people have kind of enjoyed the surprise of what the fabric is. So if I know someone in our department likes Ohio State and I know that I made them a blanket back in the day, I searched for that fabric and I was able to make one from that fabric."

With the NHL threatening to take the Canadian bubble to the US thanks to both the federal and provincial governments making it harder for Canadian teams to travel from city to city, it might be time to take a step back and really ask some hard questions about the NHL. While I get the idea of wanting teams to travel from city to city to ensure that local TV and sponsorship contracts are fulfilled for teams, it almost seems like Gary Bettman believes there isn't a pandemic still raging across North America. It seems ludicrous that we're hearing the NHL talking about cancelling Canadian home dates for hockey, but maybe the NHL shouldn't be the one to determine how and where hockey can be played.

Initially, he was ridiculed by players, media, and fans. But once other goalies began realizing the health benefits, Plante was revered for his foresight.