The National Hockey League followed the lead of the National Basketball Association on Thursday afternoon by announcing the suspension of the rest of its 2019-20 season as a result of growing concerns regarding COVID-19.
The NHL season has officially been suspended. No surprise. There is hope to resume.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 12, 2020
There’s no word on when or if games would be set to resume. According to multiple sources, NHL executives, like those of NCAA and NBA circles, had discussed the possibility of holding games in empty arenas. The San Jose Sharks had even officially stated that their remaining home games in March would be played with only essential personnel in the arena.
The suspension means Tuesday’s Dallas Stars 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers at American Airlines Center was the last game for the foreseeable future. The Stars were scheduled to host the Florida Panthers in Dallas on Thursday night.
While it’s far from the most important aspect of the story, the stoppage of play comes at a good time for a Dallas team that had lost five straight games prior to the suspension, including four losses in the month of March. The NHL playoffs were scheduled to start April 8. Dallas is four points clear of a playoff spot, in the third and final playoff position in the Central Division.
As of now, it certainly seems like the NHL remains to getting the season back in action as soon as it is possible.
The @NHL pauses 2019-20 season. https://t.co/WMePei4clH pic.twitter.com/W5Hqmk3kX7
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 12, 2020
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