On March 12, the NBA announced that one of its players had tested positive for the coronavirus and they would be suspending their season indefinitely.  Later that same day, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that they would be postponing their season until further notice.

“Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup,” Bettman said.

Since then, the league has extended its self-quarantine directive for players and staff twice and allowed players to leave their playing cities to return to their offseason homes, according to a Mar. 31, report by ESPN.  The league will have to announce their next move by tomorrow, when the latest extension of the self-quarantine period expires.

When the league officially suspended the season, many teams issued statements assuring stadium employees and other workers that their jobs would be safe and they would continue to get paid until the end of the season.

The Arizona Coyotes were no different.

In an Apr. 10 column published by Arizona Republic, Laurie Roberts reports that Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo issued the following optimistic message to Gila River Arena employees on Mar. 16:

“We pride ourselves on treating all our staff and players like they are part of our family. I value my team members and am committed to making sure that everyone remains safe, secure and part of our great team. We are going through a difficult time right now and how we respond to this challenge will define us. Through our resiliency and our ongoing commitment to our team members, we will emerge from this challenge stronger and more unified.”

Even though the NHL hasn’t officially changed its policy of only suspending the season, Meruelo, who is reportedly worth $2 billion and owns his own Mediterranean island, laid off half of the organization’s minimum wage and hourly employees last Friday.

Arizona isn’t the only team to start reducing their staff before the season is officially cancelled.

It is being reported that the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames have begun to lay off team staff and reduce the pay of some others.  The Ottawa Senators reportedly are not paying their arena employees and several other teams including Minnesota Wild, defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights have apparently not made commitments to pay their arena employees either.