NHL suspends season amid coronavirus pandemic
By Derek Draplin | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – The National Hockey League (NHL) announced Thursday that it’s suspending the remainder of its season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019-20 season beginning with tonight’s games,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday.
The league joins the NBA, the MLB, and Major League Soccer in suspending their seasons.
College conferences also announced they were canceling conference tournaments this week, and the NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring tournaments, including the men’s and women’s basketball championships.
The NHL said it has 189 games remaining this season, with the regular season originally set to conclude on April 4 and the Stanley Cup Playoffs scheduled for the following week.
The league cited the NBA’s game suspensions as many NHL and NBA teams share arenas.
“Following last night’s news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus – and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point – it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time,” Bettman added.
The league also said team meetings and practices will not go on as planned until further notice.
“Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup,” Bettman said.