The NHL is putting a pause on the current season.
Less than 24 hours after the NBA made the same call, the NHL decided it would suspend the campaign as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The league made clear they hope to resume the campaign and want to make sure the Stanley Cup gets awarded.
Here’s the full statement.
The @NHL pauses 2019-20 season. https://t.co/WMePei4clH pic.twitter.com/W5Hqmk3kX7
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 12, 2020
All Thursday, signs had been pointing toward this being the result. The league had told teams not to hold morning skates/practices/meetings, told referees working games to fly back home, and teams on the road had begun making their way to airports.
It’s unclear what the next step will be, but according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli, teams had been asked to look at their arena availability through the end of July. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he didn’t think the NBA would cancel the season altogether, and instead could end up playing as late as August. Whether that’s the type of path the NHL (or NBA for that matter) ends up going down remains to be seen.
