The Cleveland Monsters season is over, is this a sign of things to come?

The AHL has opted to end their season early, meaning the Cleveland Monsters season is over. Is this a sign of things to come for the NBA and NHL?

The Cleveland Monsters are a AHL minor league affiliate for the Columbus Bluejackets. Their season, as of the week of May 11th, is officially over. Not completely unexpected, though they are the first pro-team-league in the United States to cancel the rest of their season.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of the AHL, David Andrews issued the following statement:

"After a lengthy review process, the American Hockey League has determined that the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season is not feasible in light of current conditions.The League’s operational focus has turned toward actively preparing for the 2020-21 season.We are very grateful to the National Hockey League and its teams for their support and leadership in navigating through the challenges faced over the past two months.The AHL continues to place paramount importance on the health and safety of our players, officials, staff and fans and all of their families, and we all look forward to returning to our arenas in 2020-21."

Any fans of the Monsters who had tickets remaining have several options going forward. They can get full refund, or they can get 110% credit towards tickets for next season’s games.

Fans with tickets can receive up to 110% credit toward next tickets to next season’s games, additional benefit options in the case of specific plan holders, or a full refund. Emails have been sent to all ticket holders, according to the Monsters. You can call or email them at 216-420-0000 or send an email to service@clevelandmonsters.com.

So what does this mean for the NHL and the NBA? The NBA had a teleconference today and laid out all the options and issues presented with each situation. The National Basketball Players Association is gauging interest in plans and willingness through anonymous surveys, though NBA Commissioner Adam Silver did state that if one positive test sends everyone tail spinning into talking about shutting things down again, that they shouldn’t even consider coming back.

With the MLB players and owners about to go to war over money, and the NHL being the last of the major winter sports to shut their doors now becoming the one to say the least about what they’re doing next, the future is entirely unknown. Will the NHL follow suit now that the AHL has canceled their regular season? Is the NHL holding out to see what the NBA does? How will the MLB handle their season?

Then there’s the biggie; if the NBA, MLB, and NHL all shut down, will the NFL feel pressure to cancel the 2020 season? What about that expected second wave in the fall? How will that affect things?

Every major league in America needs to figure out how they’re going to handle things now. They’ve’ had months to formulate a plan and they’re still dragging their feet. They need to start talking about contingencies, getting together protection plans, and figuring out what each league’s “doomsday” scenario is for shutting the season down.