Marner: NHL doing 'all the right things' to ensure player safety

Mitch Marner likes what he's seen so far from the NHL in terms of keeping its players and staff safe, and has faith in the league to continue to do so.

"I think the NHL has everything under control through what I've seen through the last week or so," the Toronto Maple Leafs forward said Thursday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "They're doing all the right things to make sure no one's in the wrong or going to be in a bad place if anything happens.

"I think they're going to do what's best for their athletes and make sure that they're willing to look after us and take care of us."

Marner is one of a handful of Leafs players who have returned to the team's facilities amid Phase 2 of the league's return-to-play plan. During this phase, players are allowed to train in groups of up to six and need to take a number of measures to ensure one another's safety.

Players' temperatures are checked daily when they enter the facility, they undergo twice-weekly nasal swab tests, and they're required to wear masks when they're not working out, among other regulations.

While the circumstances are far from normal, Marner added that he's enjoyed being able to get back together with some teammates. He's been hitting the ice with John Tavares, Ilya Mikheyev, Jake Muzzin, Cody Ceci, and Jack Campbell.

"It's great getting back out there with a couple of the guys and getting to enjoy all that stuff and hanging out in the locker room again with them," Marner said. "It's something that I think a lot of guys really do enjoy, just being in the locker room and kind of just joke around and chirp each other."

The league tentatively aims to initiate Phase 3 of its return-to-play plan on July 10, which would allow teams to open up training camps in full for all players.

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