A year ago today, COVID-19 brought the NHL (and Panthers) to a halt

Joel Quenneville recalls waking up early on Thursday, March 12, 2020, to walk to the AmericanAirlines Center in Dallas to prep for the Panthers morning skate.

Before he got there, Quenneville says, the NHL sent word that all practices were cancelled as a precaution due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

More cancellations were to come.

A year ago today, the NHL not only canceled those practices but told their teams their seasons were being put on hold.

The NHL put its season on pause, hoping to pick back up in a couple weeks if the spread of the virus was to slow.

We all know how that turned out. Those weeks turned to months.

“I thought it was going to be short-term as well, I remember some of the speculation,” Quenneville said.