There was wild speculation for about a week after Tom Fitzgerald came out during media day and said that there was one player who was unvaccinated on the New Jersey Devils. Then, speculation ramped up after this great piece from The Athletic’s Corey Masisak. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN said the unknown player was “significant”, and the rumor mill went wild that it was Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
The Devils goalie confirmed he was the one unvaccinated player today to the media. He claimed there are some health issues he needs to figure out first. Does that sound like he will eventually get it? Maybe, but getting it this late shows he is willing to take a chance with his career by waiting.
“I have a couple of health concerns and health reasons why I’m working through it a little slower. I wanted to check off a couple of boxes, and not rush to do it."
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 28, 2021
-- Mackenzie Blackwood, @NJDevils goalie. He declined to elaborate. Said he's “not currently” vaccinated.
Blackwood literally saw his career go off the rails because of his COVID diagnosis last season. He was the first player on the opening night roster that came down with the sickness, and that eventually led to a full on COVID outbreak last season. Not saying he was patient zero, because that’s impossible to tell at this point, just pointing out he was the first one to get it.
He has been pretty open with how bad COVID impacted him on the ice. His diagnosis came all the way back in January, and he was cleared from protocols in early February, so unless he got COVID a second time, it’s likely his natural antibodies have worn off to the point in which he can avoid getting the virus again. Some famous athletes did get COVID twice like Lamar Jackson, who got it in November 2020 and this past July. That’s about nine months time, which is the timing from January to October.
The fact that Blackwood came out now and admitted it was him that was unvaccinated shows he’s willing to save his teammates from the questions surrounding who it could be. That was his unselfish position in all this.
The biggest impact is obviously games in Canada. If he isn’t vaccinated, he cannot go. Period. So he is going to miss at least eight games there. Where things could get very complicated is if New York City updates its rules for vaccinated players. Right now, only players who are based in The City must show proof of vaccination, but that has changed to be more strict. Is it possible they could require athletes from other cities to be vaccinated? Yes, it’s definitely possible because that’s exactly what is happening in Canada.
So, would the Devils be as understanding about this if he had to miss all the Rangers games in New York? What if that also included the games on Long Island? That would probably be a little more concerning for the Devils. As of right now, the Devils don’t even step foot in Canada until December. If Blackwood avoids getting sick and gets fully vaccinated before December, it’s a moot point. As long as all the other cities keep the current rules in place.
Blackwood has time to make a different decision. As with all unpopular decisions. Blackwood is going to get scrutinized. He follows a lot of right wing personalities, and that is going to lead to people putting two and two together. Is that fair? Probably not, but he also held a maskless meet and greet with fans who obviously did not know about his vaccination status. A lot of this virus isn’t fair, and now the Devils have a storyline they are forced to follow all season because their starting goaltender is the only one not vaccinated.