COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The NHL has postponed its 2019-20 season Thursday afternoon due to growing coronavirus concerns.
There is hope that the season will be able to resume at some point.
The NHL joins a growing list of North American leagues to have suspended their seasons in the last 24 hours, joining the NBA, MLS, NWHL, USL, NLL, and several others. The wave of postponements came after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday night. Another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive today.
The Penguins have 13 games remaining on their schedule. It's not yet clear how the league will handle the remainder of the season. The Penguins, originally scheduled to play a game in Columbus without fans on Thursday, were on a 2 p.m. charter flight back to Pittsburgh.
The Penguins issued the following statement:
”These are unprecedented times. As you know, the National Hockey League today announced that it would pause the regular season until further notice because of the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19. This follows similar decisions by the NBA and other sports leagues.
“We will remain in contact with the NHL during this period and pass on information to you as it becomes available. We will post all updates on our social media accounts and at www.pittsburghpenguins.com.
“We look forward to seeing you again when the excitement of Penguins hockey returns to PPG Paints Arena. We truly appreciate your support.
“Thank you for your understanding. Be safe.”
Several hockey leagues in Europe have already suspended or cancelled their seasons. The Austrian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swiss, Slovenian, and Slovakian leagues have cancelled the remainder of their seasons. The Danish, French, and Swedish leagues have postponed their seasons.
The commissioners of the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL junior leagues met Thursday afternoon and also decided to suspend their seasons.
Later in the day on Thursday, the AHL announced that it was also suspending its season
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