The NHL & NHLPA have agreed to suspend the season from December 22 to 25. No practice or COVID-19 testing will occur on those days. Teams will re-open facilities on December 26 at 2 PM local time.
According to a memo sent to teams/players, play will resume on Monday, December 27, and “Upon return from the holiday break to team facilities, no individual in the team’s traveling party shall enter (other than for testing purposes) until they have a negative test result.”
Tonight, December 20, and tomorrow, December 21 games will be played as scheduled, pending test results. Thursday’s games will be postponed to a later date.
Final Games before stoppage:
December 20:
Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars, 8 PM EST
December 21:
Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers, 7 PM EST
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Vegas Golden Knights 10 PM EST
Games canceled:
December 23:
Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 PM EST
Washington Capitals vs New York Islanders, 7:30 PM EST
Dallas Stars vs Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 PM EST
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Arizona Coyotes, 9 PM EST
Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights, 10 PM EST
The NHL and NHLPA decided to formulate this plan after COVID-19 cases skyrocketed around the league. Over 120 players, 40 coaches/staff members, and 10 referees/officials have been placed on COVID protocol as of December 20.
There has also been discussion of the NHL potentially deciding not to send NHL players to the 2022 Beijing Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns but there hasn’t been a formal decision yet.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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