Due to Canadian border restrictions, Andrew Copp’s return delayed until Sunday

Just as the holidays were about to commence, unfortunately, Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Copp landed in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol. But now, the 27-year-old is expected to return this weekend. After entering the COVID list back on Dec. 23, Copp, who was back home in Michigan at the time, was forced to quarantine himself over the holiday break. Since he had already crossed the Canadian border, that meant he wasn’t allowed to cross back into Winnipeg for at least 14 days. On the other hand, teammate Kristian Vesalainen, who was placed in COVID protocol the same day as Copp, was able to return to practice Thursday because he remained in Canada over the holidays and was asymptomatic. As a result, he only needed to produce consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart before receiving clearance from team doctors. If he were symptomatic, however, the 22-year-old would’ve been required to quarantine for a minimum of 10 days before being eligible to return from the league’s COVID protocol. F