Teams postpone hospital visits in wake of mumps outbreak

The Carolina Hurricanes became the latest team to postpone their holiday hospital visits Tuesday as the mumps virus continues to spread around the NHL.

The team will still go ahead with a holiday shopping trip and children's skating event, but visits to REX Hospital, UNC Children's Hospital, Duke Children's Hospital and WakeMed Children's Hospital will all be rescheduled.

The New York Islanders also postponed visits to local children's hospitals planned for Wednesday, as did the Calgary Flames. The Minnesota Wild took their time before deciding to postpone their hospital visits, while the Anaheim Ducks - arguably ground zero of the mumps epidemic - cancelled their hospital visits earlier in December.