NHL players are certainly an unselfish breed, mostly motivated by the pursuit of a silver chalice they can share with teammates and friends.
They have one paycheck due them for the 2019-20 regular season, and they’ll get that regardless of whether play resumes from the COVID-19 crisis and the Stanley Cup is awarded this summer. The playoff bonus pool is $15 million, a relatively small number when considering each member of the Cup-winning team receives between $150,000 and $200,000, depending on how many players get a share.
So returning to play is not all about the Cup.