The NHL has postponed its return to the game for a day by postponing the 14 games scheduled for Monday due to testing related to COVID-19.
The league said on Friday that it plans to resume operations on Tuesday. This decision brings the number of games postponed this season to 64.
Teams are scheduled to resume training on Sunday, but they will not be able to jump onto the ice until players, coaches and members of the traveling party are given the green light following a wave of COVID-19 testing.
The decision to delay return to play will allow the NHL “to properly analyze test results across the league and assess the readiness of teams to return to play.”
The NHL has said it will provide further updates on its return-to-play plans on Sunday.
The move comes after the NHL began its Christmas vacation on Wednesday, two days earlier than expected, due to a significant increase in the number of players in the league’s COVID-19 protocols and as 10 teams suspended their activities.
The sudden wave of postponed games also led the NHL to exercise its right to withdraw from its participation in the Beijing Olympics in February. Instead, the league will use its already scheduled Olympic break, which runs from February 6 to 22, to make up for postponed games to end an 82-game season.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander entered COVID-19 protocols on Friday, bringing the team’s total to 13 roster players, including Captain John Tavares, all-star defenseman Morgan Rielly and the goalie Jack Campbell. Head coach Sheldon Keefe, two assistants and four other members of the organization are also among them.
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