NHL, NHLPA Agree to Suspend All Operations for Dec. 22-25 amid COVID-19 Spike

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Joseph Zucker is the featured Columnist IV.

The images are from Minas Panagiotakis.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association agreed to a pause from Wednesday through Saturday.

Frank was the first to report the news.

All practices and COVID-19 testing will be stopped because there are no games being played. The players can return to their facilities on Sunday.

The two games are still on track. The Washington Capitals will play the Philadelphia Flyers. The Vegas Golden Knights will play the Tampa Bay Lightning. The time is later.

The NHL is struggling to cope with the surge of positive COVID-19 cases as the omicron variant spreads. The NBA and NFL had to delay their games because of the large number of players ruled out.

The NHL and players' union agreed to put off all cross-border games through Thursday, and the number of teams shutting down through the holiday break increased to nine.

According to Emily Kaplan, the NHL and NHLPA view a full schedule pause as a last resort, and are hopeful they will be able to avoid it.

The "last resort" has come to pass according to the report.