NHL Opening Night Game Likely to be Cancelled Due to Serious Safety Concerns
Photo credit: USA Today
The Regular Season Opening Game for the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers will likely need to be cancelled this week.
The Panthers were expected to hold their Stanley Cup Ring Ceremony in their first game against their rival Bruins, but extreme weather will likely stop the game from being played. Hurricane Milton, currently a category 5 storm, is barreling toward the West Coast of Florida and set to make landfall on Wednesday night. The Florida Panthers play 24 hours before the hurricane is expected to hit.
It'd be a major disappointment to the Panthers to have to postpone their ring ceremony, and not be able to show off in front of their rivals. But a major hurricane struck the bend of Florida just last week, and the storm surge conditions from Milton are expected to be much more severe. The area is still recovering from the storm prior, and safety needs to be the paramount concern. It'd be much better for the NHL to take the safe route, and not give anyone in the storm's path a reason to stick around.
The Panthers will have plenty of time to reschedule their ceremony at a time where their fans will be able to safely enjoy the game. It's a tough choice, but it's a reality of Mother Nature and the game simply can not go on.
The NHL and Gary Bettman haven't made an official announcement yet confirming the decision to postpone the game, but multiple league sources confirm it's nearly certain. So far, the league has said they are monitoring the situation extremely closely, but the storm is only continuing to intensify. An official communication should come from Bettman within the next 24 hours.
Hopefully, the people and area being hit by the hurricane are able to minimize the damage and get back to normal as soon as possible afterwards.
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