Pierre LeBrun reported this morning that he has heard that the rematch tonight between the Nashville Predators and the Carolina Hurricanes has been postponed.
Hearing the Carolina-Nashville game tonight is postponed. Covid situation with the Hurricanes.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 19, 2021
We and our colleagues at Canes Country are still waiting for news from either team. Hurricanes beat reporter Sara Civian retweeted LeBrun’s tweet but did not provide additional information.
I would advise against speculating on this stuff. It still doesn’t automatically mean that any specific person has or doesn’t have covid.
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) January 19, 2021
Whatever this situation was is something both teams learned about very recently, as both the Hurricanes and the Predators were pushing regular gameday and day-after-a-game content within the last hour. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and all players and staff on both teams either stay well or get well soon.
Update 11:17 AM Central time: The NHL has now released a statement.
The National Hockey League today announced that Game #52, Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed. The rescheduled date of Game #52 will be announced when available.
The decision was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts.
Our continuing best wishes to all involved.
Update 11:26 AM Central time: David Poile, appearing on 102.5 The Game to discuss the postponement, says the Predators will definitely be traveling to their scheduled games against the Dallas Stars this weekend.
Update 11:38 AM Central time: A tweet from ABC11 (Raleigh area) reporter Bridget Condon has come to our attention and contains further information about what the “Covid situation” might be.
A source tells me the @Canes have three positive COVID tests at this time.
Hard to imagine there won’t be more over the next few days.@ABC11_WTVD https://t.co/8KonGSzeNR
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetABC11) January 19, 2021
(She went on to clarify that this was in addition to the Hurricanes player already in COVID protocol.)
OTF is not speculating on the identity of players or staff who may have tested positive, and we appreciate if you do the same. However, if these reports are true, it does raise questions about the Predators’ plans to carry on as normal.
The #Preds will not skate today, but will practice tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT.
— Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) January 19, 2021
Update 12:20 PM Central time: Sara Civian reports that the Hurricanes have confirmed that they have had positive COVID-19 tests among players.
Hurricanes GM Don Waddell just told me three Hurricanes tested positive for COVID-19 but one test is a false positive. They will know more tomorrow.
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) January 19, 2021
This is a developing story.