The Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche are on hiatus until Christmas due to COVID-19 outbreaks on those teams. The NHL announced it on Friday afternoon.
The activities of the Flames were already suspended this week. The team saw a 19e player – forward Mikael Backlund – signed into COVID-19 protocol on Friday.
The Flames have postponed three games this week and with Friday’s announcement three more games are added to the roster. Their next game is currently scheduled for December 27 and they will have to resume the six games canceled somewhere in the first four months of 2022.
The Avalanche must postpone four games. Jared Bednar’s men played Thursday night, suffering a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators. The Avalanche then had five players on the sidelines due to COVID-19, including number one goalie Darcy Kuemper and defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
The Panthers postpone three games. They too played in a game on Thursday, losing 4-1 to the Kings, despite missing seven players due to the virus.
It will be necessary to see if these postponed games will have an impact on the decision of the NHL to allow its players to participate in the Olympics. The circuit has until January 10 to cancel the presence of the players without financial penalty.