The curse of the pandemic is now visible in the NHL with the postponement of three of its games. The sudden postponement of the games has reduced the total number of games to 70 (The Reuters, 2021). This has mainly occurred due to the COVID-19 threat and increase in the number of players that returned being COVID positive from their holiday breaks.

The match between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars also got called off and postponed as a result of the spread of the virus and the maintenance of COVID protocol.  The road game of the Chicago Blackhawks’ also got postponed which led to the postponement of another game from the league, spoiling the excitement and the anticipation of the fans. The alternative dates for the matches that got postponed have not yet been announced which has led to the disappointment of the fans for an indefinite period. Arrangement of ‘taxi squads’ has been made for the teams so that there is no further disruption in the league due to the pandemic (The Reuters, 2021).

The 14 game schedule has also been postponed so that the teams get adequate time and opportunities for the players thoroughly checked for COVID. The team is supposed to be back in function from 26^th December with an updated plan of the rescheduled league. As a result of the surge in the pandemic, the league got postponed for a virus outbreak and for the maintenance of COVID protocol instead of being postponed for the Christmas holidays (The Reuters, 2021). Based on the threat of the virus and the rapid outbreak, the authorities have also arrived at the striking decision that the players of the NHL would not participate in the games of the Winter Olympics that are supposed to be held in Beijing.

 

Reference

The Reuters. (2021, December 28). Three more games were postponed as more players were placed in the COVID-19 protocol. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/three-more-games-postponed-more-players-placed-covid-19-protocol-2021-12-27/