NHL Extends Holiday Pause, 14 Games Postponed

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | Last updated 12/24/21

The NHL announced via a tweet on Friday that the holiday pause that was scheduled to end on December 27th will be extended and 14 NHL games postponed. All games scheduled to take place on Monday, December 27 are being moved in order to provide for adequate COVID-19 testing results. There are still too many players from most of these teams unable to ice a full roster.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: @NHL delays return to game play by a day; games on Dec. 27 postponed.https://t.co/UX99dQ0tp1 pic.twitter.com/zZRrGjpt7L
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 24, 2021

Teams are being allowed to return to the ice with their respective groups as per originally scheduled on Sunday the 26th, but it is expected some teams may wait with so many bodies still on the protocol list.

The NHL advised in their press release today that a further update will come on Sunday, one day after Christmas. If there are a number of cases popping up between now and then, a further delay is possible.

As per the NHL’s official website:

The NHL now has postponed 64 games this season. That led to the decision to not participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The NHL was planning to pause the season from Feb. 6-22 to allow players to participate, but that block now will be used to reschedule some of the postponed games.

Next: Jets’ Hellebuyck Calls NHL’s Decision to Break Early “Overkill”

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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