NHL Shuts The Flames Down Through December 16th Due To Covid Outbreak

The Calgary Flames will not be playing any hockey until at least December 16th as a result of a large Covid outbreak on the team. The NHL made the announcement this afternoon as six players and a member of the training staff tested positive for COVID-19:

The organization also responded, announcing that Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Adam Ruzicka, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, Brad Richardson and a trainer all entered the NHL'S Covid Protocol today.

No other players/coaches/management were named in the report and it will be interesting to see if anymore positive cases pop up in the coming days. That will clearly determine if the Flames will be shelved for longer than the current December 16th mandate.

Calgary was scheduled to play the Chicago Blackhawks tonight and then the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Those games have been postponed with no make up dates set. The Flames were supposed to finish out the week with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, but it remains to be seen if that game will happen.

We will keep you posted on any and all updates with this situation and clearly player and staff safety outweighs the Flames playing hockey.

by Mark Parkinson