The Blackhawks’ COVID-19 concerns escalated to the next level Saturday.
The team canceled its scheduled 12 p.m. practice at Fifth Third Arena “out of an abundance of caution due to potential exposure of COVID-19,” the team announced.
Alex DeBrincat and Adam Boqvist were placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol list on Monday, with coach Jeremy Colliton saying then that they’d miss at least two weeks, and Lucas Wallmark was added Wednesday.
But the Hawks hadn’t recorded any new positive tests Thursday or Friday and played Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday’s games as scheduled. They’re currently scheduled to face the Blue Jackets at home again Sunday at 6.
Any Hawks players who newly tested positive will be added to the publicly available COVID-19 list by 5 p.m. Saturday.
“The Chicago Blackhawks organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines to protect the health and safety of players and staff as set by the NHL as well as local and state agencies,” the team said in a statement. “The Blackhawks will not comment further at this time and information on Sunday’s schedule will be announced at a later time.”
