The Canucks reported 21 players and four staff members tested positive for the virus and another is considered a close contact. Team physician Jim Bovard called the outbreak “a stark reminder of how quickly the virus can spread and its serious impact, even among healthy, young athletes.”
The NHL got around the U.S.-Canada border being closed to nonessential travel by making this 56-game season divisional play only, with the seven Canadian teams only facing each other.
And because of that split, hockey has mirrored the evolving virus situations in the U.S. and Canada. From Jan. 13-March 31, players on Canadian teams accounted for just 103 of the 1,361 appearances on the NHL COVID protocol list — with just one of a season-high 59 players Feb. 12.