Following today’s tragic shooting at the Canadian National War Memorial in Ottawa, the nation’s Parliament, and a nearby mall, the National Hockey League has postponed tonight’s Toronto Maple Leafs/Ottawa Senators game.
Tonight’s @MapleLeafs at @Senators game has been postponed. http://t.co/BMKJkXoN96
— NHL (@NHL) October 22, 2014
The Maple Leafs were right on top of the shooting, having spent the night at the Westin Hotel on Parliament Hill.
Surreal scene outside of our hotel right now. Lot of very brave police officers we should all be very proud of.
— Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul) October 22, 2014
Captain Erik Karlsson and top forward Bobby Ryan also chimed on the tragic events happening in the Canadian capital city.
Makes me sad what’s going on in Ottawa right now. Thoughts and prays to everyone involved. Everybody stay safe
— Erik Karlsson (@ErikKarlsson65) October 22, 2014
Sickening news from this morning. Thoughts with those downtown and the law men and women working to keep our city safe. #Ottawa
— Bobby Ryan (@b_ryan9) October 22, 2014
With the situation playing out on Parliament Hill, the NHL obviously did not want spectators making their way to the game.
Although Ottawa’s arena, the Canadian Tire Centre, is about a 30 minute drive from the National War Memorial (16.9 miles, 25.7 km), the league surely has to be wary with the Maple Leafs mere steps away from the earlier shooting at Rideau Centre, a mall connected to the Westin.
The most recent example of the NHL postponing a game following an attack of this kind was its decision to cancel the Senators/Boston Bruins game following the Boston Marathon bombings in April, 2013.