Sharks News & Notes (9/5/21)

 Here are the latest headlines surrounding the San Jose Sharks and the NHL as a whole: 

• Starting September 20, the Sharks will require their fans to show proof of full vaccination in order to attend games at SAP Center this coming season until at least November 1. This follows a recent California state public health order for events and venues with over 1,000 people. I feel this is a necessary step for the time being to stem any further outbreaks in the community and prevent society from getting set back any further from returning to more of a sense of normalcy.
  

• The Sharks have waived forward Ivan Chekhovich for the purposes of buying out his contract. He had a roller coaster of a tenure with the Sharks organization, having primarily spent time with the Barracuda in the AHL. Chekhovich will now be departing for the KHL now that he and the Sharks have parted ways.
  

•  The NHL has confirmed that its players will be allowed to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. There will be a break in the upcoming NHL season from February 3-22 to include the All-Star festivities in Vegas and to allow for NHL participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics. This will be the first Olympics to include NHL participation since the Sochi games in 2014 and the first best-on-best hockey tournament since the World Cup of Hockey back in 2016. Olympic hockey is much more entertaining when the best players in the world are included, and I will try to keep close tabs on Olympic hockey as much as possible this coming year.
  

• For the upcoming 2021-22 season, the NHL will have stricter policies and protocols for players and personnel who remain unvaccinated after the start of the season. Starting next season, unvaccinated individuals won't be allowed to interact with other players and hockey operations personnel within 12 feet of each other or travel with teams to and from away games. The good news is that roughly 95 percent of NHL players are fully vaccinated from what I've heard.
  

• Sharks assistant coach Rocky Thompson will step down from the team as he has a medical condition that prevents him from getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The NHL's new COVID protocols would prevent Thompson from doing his job properly, as he was in charge of coaching the defensemen and power play last season. The Sharks will announce Thompson's replacement at a later date.
  

• Reports have suggested that Tomas Hertl will wait and see how the 2021-22 season goes before discussing with the Sharks about a contract extension. Hertl becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season. Hopefully the Sharks and Tomas Hertl can eventually work out an extension because I would hate to see him go to another team, especially anytime soon.
  

Watch this space for more as headlines develop and preseason games take place later this month. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App