The NHL has suspended its season because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus but hopes to resume in the future.

There are 189 games and three and a half weeks remaining in the NHL’s regular season. There were 10 games on the NHL slate Thursday.

“The NHL has been attempting to follow the mandates of health experts and local authorities, while preparing for any possible developments without taking premature or unnecessary measures,” the league said in a statement. “However, following last night’s news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus — and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point — it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.

“We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions — including by self-quarantine, where appropriate. 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. Until then, we thank NHL fans for your patience and hope you stay healthy.”

The NHL players’ union said in a statement: “The decision to temporarily suspend play due to the COVID-19 pandemic is an appropriate course of action at this time.”

The NBA decided to suspend its season after Rudy Gobert, a player on the Utah Jazz, tested positive for the coronavirus. Since March 4, Gobert and the Jazz had played at Madison Square Garden in New York, TD Garden in Boston and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit — which all host NHL teams as well. The Jazz also faced the Toronto Raptors, who share a home with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Thursday, sources told ESPN that Jazz star Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for the coronavirus.

The NHL began preparing for a stoppage on Thursday morning when it advised all teams to cancel morning skates, practices and team meetings. Earlier this week, the league adopted a new media policy that prevented reporters from entering the dressing room.

The NHL was already preparing to play games later this month in San Jose, California, and Columbus, Ohio, with no spectators — per orders from local government.

There have been two seasons in NHL history where the Stanley Cup was not awarded: in 1918-19 because of the Spanish flu and in 2004-05 because of a lockout.

Several hockey leagues in Europe — including in Switzerland and Germany — have already canceled their playoffs. The IIHF women’s world championship in Nova Scotia, which was scheduled to begin later this month, has been canceled. TSN is reporting that the IIHF U18 tourney in Michigan in April has also been called off, but the men’s tournament in Switzerland in May is so far still on.

The NWHL’s Isobel Cup final, scheduled to be held this weekend in Boston, has been postponed.

The Harvard men’s hockey team had decided Wednesday not to participate in the ECAC tournament, ending its season, but then Thursday the entire event was canceled as a number of conferences called off their tournaments. USA Hockey announced Thursday that it was suspending play in its junior league, the USHL, and canceling all championships on a local level.

The spread of COVID-19, and its escalation to a pandemic, caused the NHL to accelerate its plans. On March 2, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN the league was only beginning to “explore contingency plans” including postponing or canceling games, or playing in empty arenas. “I think it’s very unlikely — knock on wood, I’m hopeful — that we would progress to a stage where we have to consider something that dramatic,” Daly said at the time. “But certainly everything is possible, and we have to look at all possible contingencies. If it gets to that point, we will be ready.”