If the season continues, how will the Canucks play their remaining games?

With almost every player on the Vancouver Canucks having contracted COVID-19, the safest way to end the team’s season would be to cancel it outright.

However, there’s no way that the NHL or its owners would let that happen, as it’ll create too big of a financial hole for the league. Furthermore, if the season gets cancelled, it won’t just affect Vancouver, but every other team in Canada as well. The schedules of the remaining North Division clubs would all need to be revised, which could drastically alter the entire playoff picture and cause additional headaches.

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So, if the NHL is determined to have Vancouver play out the rest of the year, how might that happen?

Well, the league obviously won’t and can’t force the sick players onto the ice, so the Canucks will need to employ the members of their taxi squad instead. Even so, that won’t be enough to field an entire team, so Vancouver will need to lean on players from the Utica Comets as well.

In fact, some players have already been called up, such as Kole Lind. The number of Comets that Vancouver will need ultimately depends on how well players recover from COVID, and, more importantly, if they feel comfortable with returning this season.

As it currently stands, I doubt that many Canucks players will want to return and play this year, and I don’t blame them either. In doing so, they’ll just be exposing themselves again, which means that their respective families would be at risk too.

Moreover, even if the season does continue, it seems highly unlikely that Vancouver will play all 56 of its originally scheduled games. Yes, the NHL has stated that they plan on having the Canucks hit that mark, but the postponements mean that the final standings will likely be determined by points percentage.

So, as it currently stands, it seems like the season will continue in some shape or form with many Utica players substituting for regular Vancouver skaters. At this point, I honestly don’t care much about hockey and would like to see everyone make a full recovery. Stay safe out there, everyone.