Nashville Predators’ Nick Bonino Offers Positive Message for Fans

With the NHL and the Nashville Predators on pause due to the coronavirus, players are being forced to stay away from team practicing or playing.

The Nashville Predators left off in a good spot in the standings with a three-game winning streak and climbing into a playoff spot.

They last played on Tuesday, March 10th on the road against the Montreal Canadiens, which ended in a 4-2 win.

It might turn out to be the regular season finale for the Predators, and help them secure a playoff spot if the league eventually decides to start directly in the playoffs

That’s, of course, a big if. But players are humans just like us and are having to deal with this global pandemic and disruption in their daily lives just like the rest of us.

More from Predlines

• Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Kiefer Sherwood
• Captain Candidates if Nashville Predators Didn’t Have Roman Josi
• The All-Time 25 Games or Less Nashville Predators Lineup
• Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Cody Glass
• Joakim Kemell Flashes his Offense in Nashville Predators Loss to Tampa

Nick Bonino has seen a resurgence in his career this season with the Nashville Predators. He’s been a huge catalyst in keeping the Predators afloat through the tough times, and now he’s offering a much more important message to fans, and really everyone, about how to deal with the current coronavirus pandemic.

Offering a positive message

Bonino posted to his Twitter account yesterday afternoon offering “friendly thoughts” to anyone who may read it regarding how to practice social distancing in regards to not spreading the coronavius.

These thoughts that Bonino put out there is lengthy, very deep and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He’s very straightforward in how we should be doing our part to fight the pandemic, and look out for others who may not be able to fight the virus like younger people can.

"“An interaction with one person could, in the worst case, potentially lead to the death of many people. If you’re young and healthy, you may feel untouchable, but if something happens to you, will there be enough room at the hospital to help you?”"

This is a very powerful message that cuts right to the chase. Some may disagree with him, but this goes beyond sports. And these guys are role models to not just adolescents, but young adults as well who can still transmit the disease to someone who might have a compromised immune system.

Bonino goes deeper into his thoughts on the matter:

"“I love Nashville, it’s my family’s home, but we need to shut down Broadway. There are videos of hundreds of people out last night at every bar, and instead of inevitably having to lock down in two weeks, let’s do it now.”"

Here’s a full look at everything Bonino had to say regarding the stark reality we all find ourselves in with the coronavirus:

Again, these are powerful statements that are going to bring some backlash his way. But I applaud Bonino for leading by example with the platform he has. It’s not about having the popular opinion, but having the one that can save lives.

Players have every right to remain quite through all of this, but for ones like Bonino who choose to use their big platform to help persuade positive actions, you have to applaud that as they carry the risk of being unpopular.

The season in limbo

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now come out with recommendations that goes against social gatherings of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks.

We can connect the dots that there’s not going to be any hockey in April, and probably not even in May. It’s impossible to predict how the NHL will handle this as they’re probably not even sure how it’s going to play out.

The NHL has allowed players to travel back to their offseason homes, but wants players to self-quarantine until at least the end of March, per USA Today.

That means some players may go back to their home countries.

There isn’t a known case of an NHL player testing positive for the coronavirus as of yet, and hopefully the swift action of the league will keep it that way.

I just don’t conceivably see how the league will be able to pick up where it left off and find arena space to play out the regular season in the summer, and then do a playoff schedule.

The only way I see the 2019-20 season having any kind of closure is if there’s dramatic improvement on the pandemic in the coming weeks, and the league resumes immediately in the playoffs.

Bonino’s candid thoughts will hopefully be taken seriously by people who read them. This wasn’t some quick, knee-jerk reaction. He thought this out deeply and wants to make his positive impact on the situation.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.