Blue Jackets’ and Montreal Canadiens’ games will be postponed at least through the league’s holiday break in the schedule on Dec. 26
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The NHL, like other North American sports leagues, is battling COVID-19 outbreaks across multiples teams as of Wednesday. Nearly two years into the pandemic, even with widespread vaccinations and strict protocols in place, COVID is heavily affecting hockey.
On Monday, the NHL announced that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens’ games will be postponed at least through the league’s holiday break in the schedule on Dec. 26 due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The decision was made by the NHL, the NHLPA, and each team’s medical staff.
The Canadiens will have their next four games postponed while the Blue Jackets will miss their next three games.
Just a day earlier on Sunday, the NHL announced that it would continue the regular season as scheduled, but would continue to shut down teams experiencing COVID outbreaks on a case-by-case basis for the time being, but that all games that require cross border travel between the United States and Canada will be suspended through the beginning of the league’s holiday break. That affects 12 games that will have to be rescheduled for later in the season.
Currently, besdies the Blue Jackets and Canadiens, the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs all have their seasons postponed through the league’s holiday break due to outbreaks within their teams.
As the situation continues to escalate, the NHL and NHLPA also announced an update to its COVID-19 protocols to be observed through at least January 7. The league will resume daily testing for players and coaches, and potentially implement additional pre-game testing “on a case-by-case basis” in the event of a COVID outbreak within a team.
Here is an updated look at the current COVID situation for teams throughout the National Hockey League and players who have been placed in protocols:
Boston Bruins
- Brad Marchand (Dec. 14)
- Craig Smith (Dec. 14)
- Patrice Bergeron (Dec. 15)
- Anton Blidh (Dec. 16)
- Trent Frederic (Dec. 16)
- Jeremy Swayman (Dec. 16)
Calgary Flames
- Elias Lindholm (Dec. 13)
- Andrew Mangiapane (Dec. 13)
- Brad Richardson (Dec. 13)
- Adam Ruzicka (Dec. 13)
- Chris Tanev (Dec. 13)
- Nikita Zadarov (Dec. 13)
- Milan Lucic (Dec. 14)
- Sean Monohan (Dec. 14)
- Noah Hanifin (Dec. 14)
- Johnny Gaudreau (Dec. 15)
- Rasmus Andersson (Dec. 15)
- Byron Froese (Dec. 15)
- Erik Gudbranson (Dec. 15)
- Trevor Lewis (Dec. 15)
- Jacob Markstrom (Dec. 15)
- Tyler Pitlick (Dec. 15)
- Dillon Dube (Dec. 16)
- Oliver Kylington (Dec. 16)
- Mikael Backlund (Dec. 17)
Carolina Hurricanes
- Sebastian Aho (Dec. 13)
- Seth Jarvis (Dec. 13)
- Jordan Staal (Dec. 14)
- Andrei Svechnikov (Dec. 14)
- Ian Cole (Dec. 14)
- Steven Lorentz (Dec. 14)
Colorado Avalanche
- Devon Toews (Dec. 14)
- Andre Burakovsky (Dec. 16)
- J.T. Compher (Dec. 16)
- Darcy Kuemper (Dec. 16)
- Cale Makar (Dec. 16)
Detroit Red Wings
- Robby Fabbri (Dec. 15)
- Michael Rasamussen (Dec. 15)
Edmonton Oilers
- Ryan McLeod (Dec. 14)
- Devin Shore (Dec. 16)
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Dec. 17)
Florida Panthers
- Ryan Lomberg (Dec. 14)
- Sam Bennett (Dec. 15)
- Radko Gudas (Dec. 15)
- Ryan Lomberg (Dec. 15)
- Brandon Montour (Dec. 15)
- Carter Verhaeghe (Dec. 15)
- Aaron Ekblad (Dec. 16)
- Frank Vatrano (Dec. 16)
Los Angeles Kings
- Drew Doughty (Dec. 16)
Montreal Canadiens
- Artturi Lehkonen (Dec. 18)
Nashville Predators
- Mikael Granlund (Dec. 15)
- Ryan Johansen (Dec. 15)
- Matt Luff (Dec. 15)
- Michael McCarron (Dec. 15)
- Philip Tomasino (Dec. 15)
- Ben Harpur (Dec. 15)
New York Islanders
- Mat Barzal (Dec. 14)
Philadelphia Flyers
- Morgan Frost (Dec. 14)
Toronto Maple Leafs
- Alexander Kerfoot (Dec. 17)
- John Tavares (Dec. 17)
- Jason Spezza (Dec. 17)
- Wayne Simmonds (Dec. 17)
Vancouver Canucks
- Luke Schenn (Dec. 14)
- Juho Lammikko (Dec. 14)
- Brad Hunt (Dec. 14)
- Tucker Poolman (Dec. 14)
- Tyler Myers (Dec. 18)
Washington Capitals
- Nicklas Backstrom (Dec. 17)