NHL Rumors: More Than 20 Canucks Players, Coaches Contract COVID-19

The Vancouver Canucks are dealing with a fairly scary situation.

More than 20 players and coaches recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. And the symptoms apparently are pretty brutal.

Among some of the more common symptoms, per Dreger, are vomiting, cramping and dehydration. Family members reportedly are getting the virus, too.

It’s unclear how many of the infected are symptomatic and how many are not.

As TSN’s Pierre LeBrun noted Friday night, the Canucks are dealing with the P1 variant that originated in Brazil. This reportedly is the first time the NHL has had to deal with this variant, forcing the team’s shutdown to extend beyond the league’s initial announcement.

This will not just impact the Canucks, though. The outbreak reportedly could force the North Division to play games beyond May 11 and utilize most of the “buffer week” to catch up, per LeBrun.

While this is not the first major outbreak the NHL has had to cope with this season, it could be the most concerning. Recovering from moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 is no simple task, which could create more problems beyond scheduling.

And as of now, it does not sound like any of those infected are out of the woods just yet.