from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

An eerie silence has fallen upon the NHL, the other major professional sports leagues in North America, and many other leagues around the world.

When the NHL locked players out in 1994, in 2004 — sacrificing the season to get a salary cap — and again in 2012 it was easy for fans to be angry at one side or the other or both. They could criticize owners for being greedy or denounce players for being privileged, but they knew play would eventually resume and everything would return to normal. It did, and fans returned in droves.

The “pause” invoked Thursday by Commissioner Gary Bettman in response to the coronavirus pandemic feels different. This is more ominous, less predictable than the blustery verbal salvos of labor negotiations. The league and the NHL Players’ Assn. on Friday advised players to self-quarantine at home for about a week to minimize their chances of becoming ill or spreading the virus....

Unlike the lockouts, there’s no one to blame for this. There’s also no idea when the NHL, which must heed the guidance of public health officials in the United States and Canada, will be allowed to restart. If it does, the first few games could be played without fans in diligently disinfected arenas.

Instead of debating whether Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl should win most valuable player honors over teammate Connor McDavid or if Colorado defenseman Cale Makar will top Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes for rookie of the year, we’re now wondering if we’ve seen the final NHL games this season.

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