What we know about the NHL’s suspended season

By Justin Emerson

Friday, March 13, 2020 | 2 a.m.

The NHL suspended its season. No more hockey. Now what?

Not many specifics are known about the NHL’s decision, which will lead to the largest block of missed games since the 2012-13 lockout. Plenty of questions have yet to be answered, the largest of which is when the next hockey game will be played.

The Golden Knights missed their first game Thursday, as their road game against the Minnesota Wild was one of 10 contests to be postponed on the first day of the NHL’s edict.

“The health and safety of our members, fans and community as a whole is a top priority,” the Golden Knights said in a statement. “As more information becomes available, we will share it with you. Thank you in advance for your understanding.”

Here is what we know, and the questions still without answers.

Is the season canceled?

No. The season has been put on a “pause,” to use the NHL’s words. There is no timetable for when the season will return, but the NHL was clear it wants to resume play and award a Stanley Cup.

“Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup,” the league said in a statement.

I have tickets for a scheduled Golden Knights home game. Will I get a refund?

The Golden Knights said in a statement that fans would not be eligible for a refund unless games were “canceled or directed to be played behind closed doors.”

We’ll have to wait until the pause ends, or if it ends, to see if one of those canceled games gets rescheduled and eventually played.

“We are asking fans to hold their tickets while these future schedule plans are being determined by the NHL. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding,” the team’s statement said.

Would local government have banned games even if the NHL didn’t?

Unlike other NHL markets, the Golden Knights had not been barred from holding events by local government.

Before the season suspension, two teams, the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets, had announced they would play games with no fans in the crowd after orders from their respective county and state. Two more teams, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, would have been forced to do so after a ruling from the state of California.

As of now, no local entity had banned or even recommended against large gatherings in Las Vegas. The Clark County Commission, the entity with jurisdiction over the Strip and T-Mobile Arena, had yet to make any advisories. 

The Southern Nevada Health District held a news conference Wednesday and said their officials “haven’t made a decision or a recommendation about event cancellation.”

What are the options for the season?

If the NHL does resume this season, it could simply pick up where it left off at a later date, which would include the Golden Knights playing the remaining 11 games of the season. There are a lot of factors that would complicate that, including building availability, that makes that unlikely.

Another possibility would be canceling the rest of the regular season and picking up play in the postseason. If that were the case, the league would most likely use points percentage as its determining factor for postseason standings to normalize the records of teams who have played a different number of games.

In that instance, the Golden Knights would be named Pacific Division champions and host the Nashville Predators as the top Wild Card team. The winner of that series would face the winner of the Edmonton Oilers-Vancouver Canucks series.

Will players be tested for coronavirus?

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daley told ESPN that it depends.

“At this point it’s a team-by-team thing,” he said. “Testing kits are controlled by local health organizations, and each state is allocated different amounts based on population and experience. At this point, the need for testing is greater than the supply of tests. That will start to change as manufacturers are ramping up production.”

The Golden Knights were unavailable to comment on their testing procedures.

What are the players doing?

The Golden Knights aren’t allowed to practice, hold team meetings or have team-related travel, according to multiple reports. They’re in a wait-and-see mode like most of us, and some were instructed to go home until further notice.