Rumor: NHL may soon have to take drastic measures due to the Coronavirus.

The National Hockey League is facing a potentially catastrophic situation due to the emergence of the coronavirus and they are farm from the only league around the world that will be dealing with this rather serious problem.

On Monday TSN business insider Rick Westhead revealed that he had spoken with Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases physician based out of Toronto, Canada about the mounting problem known as the coronavirus or COVID-19 and he came away from that conversation with some rather stunning conclusions on the part of Dr. Bogoch. Although it is too early to begin to panic Dr. Bogoch made it very clear that as the situation surrounding the deadly virus evolves that major leagues around North America will have to seriously consider postponing games, canceling games, or even playing games out in empty arenas as a result of the threat posed by the coronavirus. 

From Westhead:

Spoke to Toronto infectious diseases physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch about coronavirus. He tells me as situation evolves, NHL, NBA and other leagues need to consider canceling or postponing games or playing without spectators. In a memo to teams sent Friday, the NHL advised frequent hand washing for players/team staff, more teleconference meetings, and monitoring of alerts from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also Friday, the Canadian Olympic Committee banned international travel for staff, says spokesman Photi Sotiropoulos.

Now before anyone one begins to panic we have not reached that stage just yet, Dr. Bogoch also stated that with the small number of cases currently being reported in North America, 24 in Canada and 80 in the United States, that going about "business as usual" is fine for the time being. That being said some leagues have already begun shutting down as a result of this dangerous disease with the Swiss League announcing on Monday that it would be shutting down all play, including the playoffs, until the 15th of March due to a ban on events with over 1000 attendees.

Given that this is arguably the most important time of the year for the National Hockey League, with the conclusion of the 2019 - 2020 NHL regular season coming up as well as the playoffs, the timing could not be worse for the league. Hopefully we won't reach the point that the Swiss League has reached, but only time will tell in that regard.