As the Omicron variant continues to wreak havoc on the NHL's schedule, with 43 games being postponed as of 2:00pm Monday afternoon, the dream that was a best on best tournament involving the top NHL players representing their countries at the Olympics is, well, dead.
In addition to several teams already shut down due to overwhelming case numbers, the entire NHL will take a break over the Christmas holidays in the hopes of stopping the spread. We can only hope that this pause will be effective, otherwise the 15 day window the NHL had left open may not be sufficient.
The good news on the horizon is that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are being made available to players on both sides of the border. Players and fans alike need to have faith that with boosters and tighter protocols in place, the NHL season can get back on track and stay there. We don't want to end up having nothing to talk about other than Formula 1, or worse, NASCAR.