from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

And now, the Great Wait.

Everything moved quickly in the hours and days after the NHL paused its season last week. Players were urged to self-quarantine and remain close to their playing city in hopes that teams could reopen training facilities. Then, with borders closing and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending against gatherings of more than 50 people until May, the directive changed and everyone was permitted to scatter.

The quarantined hockey world is now hunkering down and pondering the future. There’s a lot of conversations and ideas flying around in text messages, but little clarity with the spread of the COVID-19 virus still picking up steam across the continent.

The clearest hint of where the NHL is headed came from deputy commissioner Bill Daly during an appearance on The Athletic’s “Two-Man Advantage” podcast, when he spoke of the league’s priorities in the months ahead: “The only definite for us is we certainly don’t want to do anything around a resumption of play this season that will impact our ability to have a full season next year.”

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