The Covid Monster strikes again. The NHL has paused the season for several teams, including the Colorado Avalanche.
Prior to the Nashville game, the positive tests were really starting to tick upward despite the NHL being 100% "vaccinated." The Preds had their issues and the 'Avs had Devon Toews heading to the protocol list. That was just the start.
Cale Makar, Darcy Kuemper, JT Compher, and Andre Burakovsky have all been added. Colorado's roster become so depleted, so fast they had to have a team vote just to see if they should play the game. The team voted yes and the result was a streak snapping 5-2 loss.
That looks pretty foolish today. Since then the league has pushed the pause button for the 'Avs and the earliest they can get back on the ice is after Christmas. All games through the end of the league’s holiday break have been postponed. That means at least four games for Colorado postponed. They had games scheduled on Dec. 18, Dec. 20, Dec. 22, and Dec. 23. They could be made up at a later date.
This decision came as the amount of positive case have jumped sharply and are expected to keep climbing. Florida and Calgary also had their game postponed until after the break. Most teams throughout the league have/had multiple players on the Covid list.
Actually, NHL sources now saying that #Avs, #FlaPanthers and #Flames (officially) have been shut down until Dec. 27.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 17, 2021
The whole situation sucks, The NHL is discussing going back to taxi squads, Montreal already played a home game without fans. It's only a matter of time before all of Canada has empty buildings again. This is happening in spite of high vaccination rates and strict Covid policies. Something is not working here.
Two years later and this stuff is still going on despite the league's vaccination policy and despite the fact that the latest "variant" is more contagious but less severe than previously. Covid is not going away folks. The world and sports need to learn how to live with it. We literally can't keep going on and on like this. That's all I'm going to say about that.
So here we are... 'Twas a week before Christmas and the 'Avs were on fire. Ball Arena sits empty with a Covid situation that is dire. You catch my drift.
Thanks for reading and stay safe out there, Steve