Frederik Andersen hopes to be able to play meaningful games again in the near future, but admitted that he is “not yet 100 percent confident” about the resumption of the 2019-20 NHL season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ goalkeeper told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday that the NHL is working tirelessly towards the completion of the two hub cities and the implementation of the correct health and safety protocols, but much remains to be found.
“We don’t have enough information yet,” said Andersen. “The league and (NHLPA) are still ironing things out.”
The NHL and NHLPA announced in early June that Phase 3 of the league’s return plan – the formal opening of training camps – would take place on July 10.
However, it seems that a return to the game is linked to players voting for ratification of the collective agreement.
Andersen explicitly mentioned “future CBA stuff” as a reason why he wasn’t sure of a return.
“I am confident that we can vote on something,” he said. “I want to play. I don’t just want to sit and waste summer and season. Hopefully we’ll see you soon.”
When asked which direction he is leaning towards voting, he replied: “I will make this decision if I get more information.”
Andersen is certainly not the only player in the league to express some sense of concern about the ongoing negotiations.
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Andersen recently returned to Toronto after spending most of the Arizona lockout with teammate Auston Matthews.
“It was a fun experience,” said Andersen. “We get on well and tried to make the best of it. He has a great house there. … We skated a bit (but) not as much as we hoped. We tried to make the best of a difficult situation. “
The Danish Netminder said he had left Arizona before the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. He traveled to California to work with his trainer before flying back to Toronto, where he is currently under quarantine.
Andersen added that his quarantine period will be over and he could go until July 10th when training camps are actually opened.
Toronto is one of the remaining potential hub city locations, but Andersen said he wouldn’t consider this a home advantage.
“I personally don’t think it will make a big difference,” he said before adding that “it won’t be an advantage or a disadvantage since there are no fans and the players are hidden in hotels.” . ”
Andersen finished fourth in the NHL victories after setting a 29-13-7 record with 0.909 percent savings, 2.85 goals against the average, and three losses in the regular season.
The 30-year-old, who has a one-year contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2021, has been a notoriously slow starter since being taken over by Anaheim Ducks in 2016.
During his Maple Leafs career, Andersen has a combined record of 20-13-5 with 0.900 percent savings, 3.14 GAA and just one shutout in the first month of the regular season game. Compare this to a record 116-53-28, 0.919 percent savings, 2.70 GAA, and 12 shutdowns in all other months combined.
So it will be interesting to see what he will look like after almost five months of discharge. Andersen said he felt that his on-ice timing would be his greatest personal challenge to regain his shape between the tubes.
The Maple Leafs ended the shortened regular season as number 8 in the Eastern Conference based on the percentage of points, and will play the Columbus Blue Jackets at number 9 in a best-of-five play-in series.
Andersen described the blue jackets as “a deep team, a team we have to be prepared for”.
The loser in this series will not reach the quarter-finals of the conference, but has a 12.5 percent chance of reaching number 1 in the 2020 NHL draft after the unusual results of the draft lottery last week.
