Canucks notebook: COVID, management rumours, return of the skate?

There isn’t going to be any Vancouver Canucks hockey to watch until after the Christmas break but let’s go over some of the latest updates and rumours surrounding the team.

More Canucks and NHL games postponed as well as Abbotsford.

It was announced on Sunday that two more Canucks games have been postponed.

Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks and Thursday’s games against the Anaheim Ducks have been postponed.

The decision was based on the NHL deciding to postpone cross-border games through December 23.

The NHL’s participation in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing looks like it is hanging by a thread. However, discussions between the NHL and NHLPA are still ongoing.

On Monday, it was also announced that the Abbotsford Canucks have had their two games against the Tuscon Roadrunners postponed. Those games were supposed to be played at the Abbotsford Centre on December 22 and December 23. Abbotsford played the weekend in Henderson against the Silver Knights. They won Saturday’s game 3-2 and lost 3-1 on Sunday.

Nine NHL teams have been shut down through the holiday break including the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, and Montreal Canadiens.

The Seattle Kraken and Arizona Coyotes were supposed to play Monday night as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils. However, the league has postponed those games. The Dallas Stars-Minnesota Wild game is still went ahead.

According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the NHL will suspend operations from December 22-25 but we shall wait for an official announcement which is likely coming Tuesday.

Canucks continue to practice, Luke Schenn dealt with the Omicron variant.

The Canucks practice on Monday morning and there were only five defencemen on the ice.

“If we’re practicing and other teams cannot because of COVID we want to take advantage of that,” said Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau per Thomas Drance of The Athletic.

Boudreau also admitted that the team looked a little sloppy during practice.

“With the lack of practice, we haven’t been able to implement all the changes,” said Boudreau. “Hopefully this week, before the break, we can get that all done.”

“For us, keeping that mindset what we had going into this pause, and getting right back into it,” said Bo Horvat on the mentality at practice.

Luke Schenn was one of the Canucks that tested positive for COVID-19. He was the first Canuck to test positive and has not had COVID before. Schenn also said he dealt with the Omicron variant.

“I was sick for maybe three or four days and with general flu or cold symptoms that you would have in the winter with some body aches and a sore throat,” said Schenn per Ben Kuzma of The Province and Vancouver Sun.“Other than that, I recovered fairly quickly and being off the ice for just over a week was the challenging part, but luckily we’ve got a pause here and I can work through it. You have to be a little bit cautious working your way back, like any illness or sickness with your immune system. You don’t want to push it too hard the first couple of days. I was able to do some physical stuff at home when I was isolating and thought I would be playing a couple of games before Christmas, so I was pushing it.”

Boudreau said that all the tests from the last two days have been negative and the rest of the players in COVID protocol are doing well.

Horvat was relieved that the team hasn’t gone through an outbreak as big as last season.

“Thankfully the vaccine is working and making it so guys aren’t getting sick like they did last year,” said Horvat per Drance.

Jennifer Botterill and Chris Macfarland rumoured to join Canucks front office.

The search for the next Canucks General Manager continues.

One of the names being brought up for the job is Chris MacFarland who is currently the Assistant General Manager for the Avalanche.

MacFarland was mentioned as a Canucks target by Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV’s Donnie and Dhali: The Team during Monday morning’s show. ( At the 1:07:49 mark in the linked podcast.)

MacFarland has been Joe Sakic’s assistant since 2015. Before that, he was part of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization for 16 years as Director of Hockey Operations and later Assistant GM. Sakic, along with MacFarland has turned the Avalanche from being the worst team in the NHL to a legit Stanley Cup contender. MacFarland is a progressive hockey mind and is big on analytics.

Canucks President of Hockey Operations and Interim GM Jim Rutherford wants three assistant GMs and a diverse front office.

Derek Clancey has been hired as one of the assistants and that is two more to go. One of the names that could potentially join Clancey is Jennifer Botterill.

Botterill is currently a TV analyst for Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada and has an extensive hockey background. She went to Harvard University where she got a Psychology degree. Botterill also played for the Harvard Women’s Team and she broke the NCAA Division-One all-time scoring record.

Botterill also has won three Olympic gold medals, and five Women’s World Championships (she was named MVP twice in five of those tournaments.) She is also the sister of former Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill. (He is also in the mix for the Canucks GM job.)

She was first linked to the Canucks by Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail.

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman also reported on Last Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast that Botterill, Jayna Hefford, and Angela Ruggiero are potential candidates for a job in the Canucks front office. Botterill was sitting beside Friedman as he spoke about the rumour. She spoke about Ruggerio and Hefford right after and did not comment on the Canucks job.

Friedman also was on Donnie and Dhali on Monday and he spoke about Botterill.

Hefford was Botterill’s teammate on the Canadian Women’s team. Hefford was won four Olympic gold medals and was commissioner for the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which is now defunct, and currently works with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association as their Chairperson.

Ruggerio won one goal, two silvers, and one bronze with the American team and is currently CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab and has worked with the New York Islanders and was a member of the International Olympic Committee. She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.