Jeff Petry relished the chaos, returning home after a demanding practice to three rambunctious boys with baseball gloves, Nerf guns and boundless energy.
But last winter, when he walked in the door all that waited was a sad silence.
Petry was amid a lost season with the Montreal Canadiens when the pandemic pushed his family toward a decision point. The Omicron variant was spreading fast. COVID restrictions were reinstated in the province of Quebec. Schools shuttered again, with no clear answers from authorities on when they might reopen.
