The Toronto Maple Leafs were scheduled to play the Nashville Predators tonight.
Updated 2 PM: The NHL announced that it is suspending play due to the Corvid 19 Virus.
The NHL pauses the 2019-20 season. pic.twitter.com/bCi776ZFqX
— NHL (@NHL) March 12, 2020
From Earlier:
The Toronto Maple Leafs have canceled all media availability for today.
The NBA has suspended it’s season, and the NHL has canceled all morning skates.
The NHL is scheduled to have a conference call this afternoon at 1 PM, where I would be shocked if they did not postpone the season.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Social Distancing
With an NBA player testing positive for the corona virus, and nine other teams needing to be quarantined, it is just a matter of time before it happens in the NHL.
Of course at times like this, sports and entertainment take a back seat to the health and well being of people, but it will still be disappointing if the NHL has to cancel it’s season.
All scenarios being discussed and possible. Playing in empty buildings across the league. Postponement. Pushback or delay to end regular season. A cap on the regular season followed by a break before playoffs. Everything is in play at this point. https://t.co/lhLVE5xhdO
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 12, 2020
One piece of good news: if the season is indeed over, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made the playoffs!
Under one proposed solution, the rest of the season would be canceled and the league would start the playoffs later in the year when it’s safer to do so.
Not sure how they would deal with the fact of teams playing different numbers of games, but considering how short the off-season is to begin with, this seems like a logical step to take.
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division, and would remain in third even if Florida played and won their game-in-hand.
At this point there isn’t much we can do but sit around and wait. If games do resume, it seems unlikely that fans will be allowed to attend.
Ultimately this is probably the smart thing to do because social distancing can exponentially halt the spread of the virus. If you allow it spread unchecked, you’ll end up being forced to shut-down anyways, so it makes sense to do so while hospitals are not overrun.
This is unprecedented in out lifetimes, and the only thing we can do is try to remain calm and informed.
Unfortunately, during rough times sports are one of the things we turn to take our mind off our troubles, and that may no longer be possible. On the bright side, we are not likely to run out of Toronto Maple Leafs topics to discuss and debate endlessly over!
For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your province or state’s Department of Health.