Paused Flames now have nine players in COVID-19 protocol

The Calgary Flames had at least their next three games postponed by the NHL on Monday due to a COVID-19 outbreak that, at that time, had six players and one staff member in the league's coronavirus protocol. 

Calgary encountered even more bad news on Tuesday. 

Per Adam Toy of Global News, the Flames have confirmed that forwards Milan Lucic and Sean Monahan, along with defenseman Noah Hanifin, have entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. They join Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson, Adam Ruzicka, Christopher Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov on the COVID-19 list. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, Calgary remains scheduled to return to action against the Columbus Blue Jackets this coming Saturday, although the status of that game is understandably up in the air.

All three major North American professional sports leagues currently active are facing worrisome COVID-19 issues ahead of Christmas. On Monday, the NBA's Chicago Bulls had at least two games postponed because of virus-related setbacks, and the NFL recorded a reported 37 positive COVID-19 tests later that day. 

Also on Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns placed six active-roster players and two practice-squad individuals on reserve/COVID-19 lists. The Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, have a total of five players in the NBA's health and safety protocols.