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The NHL has extended its isolation period through April 15 amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. That isn’t to say the NHL will return after April 15, it’s simply pushing back a previously set deadline. Chances are the NHL will have play suspended until at least the Summer, in which the status of the rest of the season will be discussed.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the news in an e-mail to the AP on Tuesday. The previous date that was set in place was April 4, which would have been pretty early into the pandemic to stop self-isolation. The ban on large gatherings of 50-plus people is in effect until the middle of May, though that could be extended as well. Daly mentioned the League is “biting this off in chunks.”
There have been four confirmed cases of coronavirus among NHL players: two on the Ottawa Senators and two on the Colorado Avalanche. That would mean there are plenty more tests that need to be conducted before the League thinks about bringing players back to practice.