The Calgary Flames will not be able to return to the ice for games until after Saturday, at the earliest, after coach Darryl Sutter and 16 other team members were added to the league's protocols on Wednesday.
The NHL on Wednesday said the Flames' training facilities will continue to remain closed to players, and that the organization "has followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its players, staff and community at large."
Saturday's game against Columbus will also be postponed, bringing the number of games missed to four. Calgary has already had two games postponed -- against Chicago (Monday) and Nashville (Tuesday) -- with Thursday's game against Toronto also called off.
The NHL said it would provide a further update next week about the Flames' revised schedule.
The Flames on Wednesday said they added seven players, three coaches and seven support staff members to the list. The moves come after six players and another staff member were entered in the protocol on Monday.
The players entering protocol on Wednesday from the Flames include Rasmus Andersson, Byron Froese, Johnny Gaudreau, Erik Gudbranson, Trevor Lewis, Jacob Markstrom and Tyler Pitlick.
In all, Calgary has 16 players in protocol.
Along with Sutter, associate coach Kirk Muller and assistant Ryan Huska also are in the protocol.
In all, more than 130 NHL players have been on the protocol list this season -- including more than two dozen in the past two days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
