NHL to Halt Season Wednesday Amid Coronavirus Spike

The National Hockey League (NHL) will halt its season Wednesday as fear spreads over the omicron coronavirus variant.

In an announcement on Monday, the NHL said that the National Hockey League Players Association agreed to “postpone the five games that remain scheduled on Thursday, December 23, in order to begin the collectively-bargained Holiday Break effective with the conclusion of games tomorrow night, December 21.”

All practice and games will be off between December 22 and December 25 until players are permitted to report back to their clubs, which “be used for testing, practice and/or travel only.”

“Upon returning from the holiday break to team facilities, no individual in the team’s traveling party shall enter the facility (other than for testing purposes) until they have a negative test result,” said the announcement.

“The NHL regular season schedule resume on Monday, December 27,” it concluded.

Tuesday’s games – Washington at Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay at Vegas – will be played as planned.  According to the Washington Post, the NHL is now the “first major pro sports league in North America with plans to halt play entirely, albeit briefly.”

With roughly 15 percent of NHL players in coronavirus quarantine, as many, as 10 NHL teams were shut down as of Monday: the Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and Boston Bruins.

VANCOUVER, BC – APRIL 18: A COVID-19 warning sign sits at one of the entrances to Rogers Arena prior to NHL hockey action between the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 17, 2021 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

The NHL’s brief postponement comes despite the fact that the league has a vaccination rate nearing 100 percent. In October, for instance, the league boasted that all but four players were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“Our vaccination rate is incredible,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the time. “Four players, not four percent of players. All of our officials are vaccinated. All of the personnel that come into contact with the players are vaccinated.”

The NHL instituted strict measures against unvaccinated players by requiring them to quarantine a week before training camps while demanding they submit a negative coronavirus test daily.

“What they can do during away games is also extremely limited: unvaccinated players are not allowed to go anywhere aside from the team’s hotel, the training facilities, and the arena where the game is being held, and they’re also barred from having visitors in their rooms,” NPR reported at the time.