NHLPA, NHL Postpone Playoff Games Through Friday

The NHLPA and NHL announced that they will join an expanding boycott of games Thursday, cancelling the night's two games, Philadelphia vs. New York Islanders in Toronto and Vegas vs. Vancouver in Edmonton, as well as both games slated for Friday, Tampa Bay vs. Boston in Toronto and Colorado vs. Dallas in Edmonton.
"After much discussion, NHL Players believe that the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight's and tomorrow's games as scheduled. The NHL supports the Players' decision and will reschedule those four games beginning Saturday and adjust the remainder of the Second Round schedule accordingly..."

The NBA's Milwaukee Bucks started the boycott Wednesday in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, 40 miles south in their home state of Wisconsin. Blake was shot seven times in the back and is currently paralyzed from the waist down. Other NBA teams slated to participate in playoff games Wednesday validated the Bucks' lead and voted not to play. WNBA players followed suit and some major league baseball games were similarly canceled Wednesday, including one featuring the Milwaukee Brewers. The Major Soccer League canceled five games on Wednesday.
On the first day of this summer's unprecedented NHL postseason, Minnesota Wild defenseman
Matt Dumba delivered a powerful from-the-heart anti-racism speech before next kneeling for the U.S. national anthem
(the first NHL player to do so) before an opening game in the hub city of Edmonton between the hometown Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks. His Wild team was eliminated by Vancouver in a Qualifying Round series, but Dumba remains a clear voice among NHL players of color.
When it was evident the NHL would play the two scheduled games Wednesday (a 7-1 Tampa Bay victory over Boston and a Colorado 6-4 victory over Dallas), Dumba appeared on a Vancouver drive-time sports radio station to provide his perspective when asked what action he would live to see from the league and players on the remaining eight postseason teams:

"You know what, it's kind of a loaded question because I know what's going to happen and I don't think much is going to happen from that standpoint. The NHL we're always last to the party on these topics, it's kind of sad and disheartening for those of us in the HDA [Hockey Diversity Alliance] and I'm sure other guys across the league. If no one stands up and says anything, it's that silence, you're just outside looking in on being leaders and invoking real change, when you have such an opportunity to do so."
During a follow-up question, Dumba said, "I hope guys find it in them to stand up. You can't keep coming to the minority players every time there's a situation like that. The white players in our league need to have answers for what they're saying in society too and where they stand in making a change, doing good for the league. There's a lot of them that are good people. In hockey, there's a lot of good people in hockey, but the silence is as bad as the violence."
Dumba is a founding member of the recently formed Hockey Diversity Alliance with a mission "to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey." San Jose forward Evander Kane and former NHL player Akim Aliu are co-heads of HDA with Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley, Buffalo forward Wayne Simmonds, American Hockey League forward Chris Stewart and former NHL forward Joel Ward. Thursday morning, the HDA officially requested the NHL suspend the night's playoff games with Kane tweeting "we strongly feel this sends a clear message that human rights take priority over sports."

The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported more than 100 NHL players in the Toronto and Edmonton "bubbles" joined a Thursday afternoon call hosted by Kane and Dumba. The NHL Players' Association announced a conference call Thursday afternoon to get feedback from its members and the league postponed several scheduled video-conference media availabilities originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
There is no indication as yet about continuation of the playoffs and adjustment in the game schedules.
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