Dallas Stars to open season on Jan. 22 after COVID-19 outbreak

The 2020-21 Dallas Stars may want to embrace "better late than never" as a mantra. 

Dallas confirmed on Friday afternoon that its season will begin Jan. 22 with a home game against the Nashville Predators. The Stars had the start of their campaign delayed because of a coronavirus outbreak that, per Emily Kaplan of ESPN, resulted in 17 players testing positive for COVID-19 during training camp. 

According to a previously released league statement, the majority of those players were asymptomatic. The NHL did not disclose the identities of players who tested positive during training camp. 

Originally, Dallas was scheduled to begin play versus the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. Instead, the Stars had two games against Florida and two contests versus the Tampa Bay Lightning rescheduled.

"We're going to be figuring this out on a daily basis," Stars coach Rick Bowness said of the situation earlier this week, per Mike Heika of the club's official website. "When the puck drops, we will have done everything we can to get this team ready to go."

All NHL teams, even those that get off to a late start, are scheduled to complete 56 games during the 2020-21 season.