The NHL will not resume play next Monday, meaning the league’s pause on games will extend at least another day.
SCHEDULE UPDATE: @NHL delays return to game play by a day; games on Dec. 27 postponed.https://t.co/UX99dQ0tp1 pic.twitter.com/zZRrGjpt7L
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 24, 2021
The league announced Friday that all 14 games scheduled for next Monday have been postponed because of COVID-19 concerns.
The NHL says teams still can return to practice on Sunday. The league also says it will provide an update on the schedule before the end of Sunday.
Four games next Tuesday remain on the schedule.
The league started its pause on Wednesday, two days ahead of the original Dec. 24-26 break.
The NHL has now postponed 64 games this season. All the schedule adjustments triggered a decision not to send players to the Beijing Olympics earlier this week.
Roughly 15 per cent of the league’s players were in COVID protocol when the league went on pause.
The NHL is the only one of the three biggest leagues in North America that has gone on pause during the current COVID-19 surge.
The NBA and NFL have both postponed games and recently changed eligibility and/or protocol rules, but both are slated to play games on Christmas Day.
