Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness has been cleared to rejoin the team after he returned a false positive COVID-19 test. Bowness was pulled from the bench midgame on Sunday as a result of COVID protocols.
The 66-year-old coach, who is the oldest in the league at his current position, was pulled between the second and third period as the team announced Bowness would enter COVID safety protocols. Assistant John Stevens went on to take over head coaching duties. The Stars would go on to lose their game against the Carolina Hurricanes, 1-0.
It was theorized at the time this removal happened that Bowness ran into a similar issue that Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle ran into, where a false positive came back after being vaccinated months ago. Bowness is fully vaccinated, but still missed the remainder of Sunday's game and the entirety of Tuesday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, which also resulted in a loss, 4-2.
The Stars were the unintended faces of NHL COVID protocol at the beginning of the season when an outbreak in training camp resulted in 17 team members testing positive, and their first four games getting postponed.
That wasn't the end of the NHL's COVID woes, as there are still outbreaks happening around the league, with the Canucks being the latest victims. Vancouver had as many as 16 players on the team's COVID list, and games through April 6 postponed.
