NHL Will 'Pause' The Rest Of Its Season
CHICAGO (CBS/CBS SPORTS) -- According to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the remainder of the NHL season will be put on 'pause' due to concerns over the coronavirus.
"In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019‑20 season beginning with tonight's games," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.
The news comes less than 24 hours after the NBA announced the suspension of their season on Wednesday night. Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus prior to his team's game and on Thursday, his teammate, Donovan Mitchell also tested positive. The NHL currently shares 11 arenas with the NBA -- three of which hosted the Jazz's last three road games (Detroit, Boston, New York). Bettman said that played a large role in the decision to pause the NHL season.
"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," he said.
Bettman added: "we will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all precautions, including self quarantine, where appropriate. Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup."
Prior to Thursday's decision to shut down for the time being, multiple teams -- including the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks -- had announced plans to close their arenas to the public and play scheduled games without fans through the end of the month.
The league's regular season schedule is scheduled to run through April 4th with the playoffs slated to begin four days later on Wednesday, April 8.
CBS Sports contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back with CBS 2 for more details.
