New York Rangers waiting on the NHL for a decision about the season

The New York Rangers and the rest of the teams in the NHL are in limbo, waiting for the league to decide what to do.  They should know in a few hours.

There is a distinct possiblity that the New York Rangers played their last game of the 2019-20 season last night in Colorado.    The team was supposed to fly to Arizona after the game, but remained in Denver, awaiting a decision by the NHL on how to proceed (or not) with the season.

There is a 1pm Board of Governors meeting where the decision will be made on how to move forward.  The Columbus Blue Jackets were supposed to play their home game tonight with no fans in attendance and the San Jose Sharks had announced plans to do that as well, in respect of local restrictions on public events.

Unlike the NBA, no NHL players have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, but due to the lack of testing in North America, it is entirely possible that some players have the disease.   There has been no word from the NHL about any kind of league-wide testing to see if that is the case.

The Rangers had limited access to the locker room for the last few games, only holding post game availabilities in press conference format.   David Quinn address the issue after the game last night.

He read a prepared statement and wouldn’t discuss the Coronavirus situation, just taking questions about the game.

Kaapo Kakko’s medical history

The Rangers are in an interesting situation.  Rookie Kaapo Kakko is a diabetic and also has celiac disease.  He discussed that at length in a recent profile in GQ magazine. While celiac disease means that he has to maintain a gluten free diet, according to most websites it shouldn’t compromise his immune system.   The Celiac Disease Foundation does make the point that there is no research into any risk specifically involving people with celiac disease.

According to the American Diabetes Association “In general people with diabetes face greater risks of complications when dealing with viral infections like flu, and that is likely to be true with COVID-19.”

Both organizations recommend that people with diabetes or celiac disease follow the CDC flu regimen and stay away from large  gatherings.

It’s likely that there are similar situations with players from other NHL teams.  Clearly, there is a reason for the New York Rangers to be overly cautious when it comes to coronavirus.

This is a very fluid situation and we should know soon about the NHL decision about this hockey season.