Todd Rierden won’t be coaching when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night.
Reirden was placed on the league’s COVID-19 Unavailability List shortly after warmups. Per the team, skating and skills development coach Ty Hennes will take Todd’s place behind the bench, joining head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach Mike Vellucci.
Reirden coaches the Penguins’ defense and runs their power play.
Assistant coach Todd Reirden will not be available for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers due to COVID-related protocols.
Skating and skills development coach Ty Hennes will join head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach Mike Vellucci behind the bench tonight.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 2, 2021
Earlier in the day, the Penguins canceled their morning skate after captain Sidney Crosby was put in protocol as well.
“We’ve got to control what we can to give ourselves the best chance to be successful and we can’t worry about the things we can’t,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said according to NHL.com. “As I said to our players, we can do all the right things and this kind of stuff could happen. The other thing I would say is just because someone is on the COVID protocol list doesn’t necessarily mean that they have COVID. There are protocols put in place for a reason, and we will do our very best to adhere to them.”
Tuesday’s game also marks the first one this season that Penguins fans can attend.
FANS ARE HERE! pic.twitter.com/QQZI34ej7H
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 2, 2021
Looks a bit packed on the upper concourse by the open concessions pic.twitter.com/8YMPnv1ti2
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) March 2, 2021
For Reirden, the pandemic has always been “scary” due to his teenage son, Travis, who has an immune system disorder.
“It certainly has made it a different situation in the Reirden household,” Reirden said to reporters while he was Capitals head coach in April 2020. “When first news came out of who was going to be most affected by this, obviously it was the elderly and people with compromised immune system, and immediately Travis, goes to the top of that list. … It’s something that we’ve had to really stay on top of.”
