NHL suspends season following NBA coronavirus case
The US National Hockey League announced on Thursday that it will “pause” its 2019–20 season amid growing concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic. While there are no reports of an NHL player testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the NBA suspended its season on Wednesday “until further notice,” after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the virus. As NHL commissioner Gary Bettman notes, several teams in the two leagues share facilities. The NHL suspension begins with tonight’s games.
“The NHL has been attempting to follow the mandates of health experts and local authorities, while preparing for any possible developments without taking premature or unnecessary measures,” Bettman said in a statement. “However, 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.”
The NHL Players Association issued a statement expressing its agreement with the league’s call, saying, “The decision to temporarily suspend play due to the COVID-19 pandemic is an appropriate course of action at this time.”
The Utah Jazz were in Oklahoma City to play the Thunder on Wednesday night before the game was abruptly canceled just before tipoff. Utah center Rudy Gobert, who was not in the arena at the time, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The NHL’s Bettman added that the league wants to resume playing “as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup.”
The last time the NHL had a shortened regular season was due to a work stoppage during the 2012–13 season. In 1919, the league canceled the Stanley Cup Final between the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans halfway through the tournament due to an influenza outbreak, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Major League Baseball is expected to make an official announcement about the status of its season this afternoon. The National Women’s Hockey League postponed its Isobel Cup championship series between the Boston Pride and Minnesota Whitecaps, which was scheduled for March 13th. And Major League Soccer also announced on Thursday that it is suspending the rest of its season.
The US National Hockey League announced on Thursday that it will “pause” its 2019–20 season amid growing concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic. While there are no reports of an NHL player testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the NBA suspended its season on Wednesday…
