Canucks latest reminder COVID-19 pandemic is not over

A Bo Horvat card.

The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks have unfortunately become the poster example that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is not over.

While vaccines for COVID-19 are rolling out across Canada, some areas of the country increased restrictions to try and combat the virus as variants of concern become an increasing issue.

Over the Easter weekend, the halt of the Canucks NHL season caught the attention of the country.

As of Monday night, the Canucks have 17 players on the NHL’s COVID protocol list. The list doesn’t mean a player has tested positive, but a player could be a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Another unnamed player from the taxi squad is quarantining as a high-risk close contact, and three members of the Canucks coaching staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

It is reported that the NHL and the Canucks are proceeding under the belief they are dealing with the highly-transmissible P.1 variant, which was first identified in Brazil. At the moment, Vancouver is a global hotspot for the P.1 variant.

The P.1 variant is believed to be more transmissible and is capable of infecting people who were once infected by the original strain of COVID-19.

It is believed vaccines for COVID-19 that have been created to date are less effective on the P.1 variant, and people who get the variant can experience more severe sickness compared to the original strain of the virus.

It is believed younger people are more susceptible to a severe outcome, if they get infected by the P.1 variant.

The Canucks COVID-19 troubles began on March 30, when centre Adam Gaudette was pulled from practice after next day results from the previous day’s testing came back positive for COVID-19.

A Brandon Sutter card.

Last Wednesday, defenceman Travis Hamonic found out he had tested positive for COVID-19 from testing done the previous day after he participated in a morning skate. The Canucks ultimately held two on ice sessions with infected players.

That resulted in last Wednesday’s NHL regular season game between the Canucks and the visiting Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena being postponed 90 minutes before puck drop.

By this past Friday, the Canucks had seven players on their COVID protocol list. Another seven players were added this past Saturday and situation grew to the levels it sat at on Monday night.

Those on the COVID protocol list included the likes of forwards Bo Horvat, Jayce Hawyrluk, Brandon Sutter and Antoine Roussel, defencemen Tyler Myers and Quinn Hughes and netminder Braden Holtby, who is an alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

The Canucks have had a couple of instances where dehydration was severe enough that team medical staffers were dispatched to player homes to administer IV drips to players.

There have been reports that many family members of Canucks players have tested positive or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

As of Monday night, the Canucks have had six games postponed due to this COVID-19 outbreak including tilts with the Flames in Calgary this coming Thursday and Saturday.

The Canucks last played at Rogers Arena when they fell 5-1 to the visiting Winnipeg Jets on March 24.

At the moment, the Canucks are slated to play again on April 12 against the Oilers in Edmonton.

The Canucks have played 37 of their 56 regular season games for the current campaign posting a 16-18-3 record. They sit eight points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff berth in the all-Canadian North Division.

At the moment, there is no clear certainty as to when the Canucks will return to the ice.

An Antoine Roussel card.

In an interview with Eric Francis of Sportsnet.ca on Monday, former NHLer Brent Sutter, who is the head coach, general manager and owner of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, said he is concerned for his son Brandon, who plays for the Canucks, and Brandon’s family.

Brent confirmed that Brandon had indeed tested positive for COVID-19, and even though Brandon is 32-years-old, Brent said the parental instincts have kicked in, and he wished he could at his son’s side helping him out.

At the moment, no professional team in North America has had a rougher time dealing with COVID-19 than the Canucks have had.

The Canucks are an example that shows how real the COVID-19 pandemic still is.

Of course, the mixed messages are plenty when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. An MLB regular season game on Monday that saw the Toronto Blue Jays down the host Texas Rangers 6-2 drew 38,238 spectators to the 40,300 seat Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The state of Texas is allowing 100 per cent capacity for sporting events.

Many that are against everything that is being done on the restrictions front to combat the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to pop the champagne corks at Monday’s developments Arlington celebrating the end to the pandemic.

It should be noted that the United States is still experiencing at least 50,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day, which is still an improvement of daily increases of 200,000 new cases at the start of the year.

Still, the new case counts that are happening in the United States, Canada and the rest of the world are still a problem.

COVID-19 is still a problem that creeps up in the sports world including Canada’s sports world.

The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets are in the middle of a 14-day suspension of team activities due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

A Quinn Hughes card.

The junior A Alberta Junior Hockey League currently has six teams in the Grande Prairie Storm, Drayton Valley Thunder, White Court Wolverines, Okotoks Oilers, Camrose Kodiaks and Drumheller Dragons who are all under a 14-day suspension of team activities due to positive COVID-19 tests.

You can continue to keep listing examples like this.

Overall, the NHL’s Canucks have been the biggest recent noticeable example about how quickly things can still escalate on the COVID-19 front.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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