Amid a massive spike in COVID-19 cases across the league–much like what the rest of the sports world is dealing with–the NHL is reportedly considering a temporary shutdown.
According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, there are ongoing conversations about a league-wide shutdown, which could start on Tuesday. A number of possible options include suspending the games until the holiday break and return to play on December 27, or suspend games until the New Year and resume matches in the Winter Classic on January 1st.
However, as Seravalli noted, nothing is official yet and there's no decision made as things remain very fluid. There are also reportedly a number of teams against the temporary shutdown, arguing that there is no certainty things will be better in a week or two. With that said, those against the postponements believe it is better to grind out as much games as possible so that the NHL will only need to make up for a few games later on.
Sources say there has been conversation today about a possible league-wide shutdown effective tomorrow. The situation remains very fluid. No decision yet.
Now just 7 games left before Christmas break.
44 games have been postponed this season, 39 in last 7 days. https://t.co/orrTu46gjb
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 20, 2021
This development came after the NHL instituted a new set of rules to combat the spread of COVID-19 among players, staff and fans. Aside from expanding testing protocols, fans are also not allowed to watch games live in arenas once again.
Furthermore, cross-border travel will also be suspended for Canada-based NHL teams playing against US-based teams, with the games set to be rescheduled at a later date.
Aside from the Seattle Kraken's games being postponed on Monday, the likes of the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche announced recently as well that their games would be suspsends through December 26th. The same goes for the Boston Bruins, who will not be playing until December 27th.
With the COVID-19 cases expected to increase in the NHL considering the recent outbreaks, a lot more games are expected to be postponed. With that, a shutdown is certainly becoming a huge possib
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