Vancouver Canucks hope all players fully vaccinated ahead of training camp

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver Canucks training camp gets underway in less than a week and the team says it’s their “goal to have all players fully vaccinated.”

The club adds it is “in very good shape heading into training camp.”

The NHL does not have a mandate for the players to have both doses, but the coaching staff, management, members of the media, and fans entering the building have to be fully vaccinated.

As the NHLPA is not forcing its members to get both doses, the league is going to make things a little more difficult for them. Dan Riccio, host of the People’s Show on Sportsnet 650, says there are some serious financial penalties that can be imposed if someone gets infected.

“You’re going have to be taking a lot more risks with your paycheque and the way your season goes if you are unvaccinated. Players that are unvaccinated, if they do happen to get COVID-19, they will be essentially suspended without pay. So, that will hit them in the pocketbook. On the road, you’re basically only able to go hotel, to rink — much like the protocols were last year, whereas, if you are vaccinated you do have a little bit more freedom.

“If you are unvaccinated, you will be tested every day and more frequently than a vaccinated player would be. The rules are much more strict for the players that are left that are still yet to be vaccinated.”

He adds the players can be fined for their actions if they break the rules.

“Mostly what the NHL is saying is, ‘We want you to be vaccinated and it’s on you if there’s any sort of outbreak,'” he said.

“You will have longer quarantine periods if you do happen to get COVID-19 and you are unvaccinated. If you look at the NFL right now, if a player is just a close contact and is unvaccinated, they have to quarantine for a mandated five days before they’re allowed to get back to practice, get back into game action. That has forced teams to make some really tough decisions about players, as well. I think that’s part of the situation here for the NHL. If you’re unvaccinated, you’re putting your team at risk and also it could affect results of your team if you’re unable to get into the line-up because of a situation.”

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The Canucks had the worst outbreak in the NHL last season with roughly 25 players and staff infected with the virus. Some may wonder why teams like Vancouver are cracking down a little harder.

Riccio says this is a ruling from the NHLPA, not one a team can set on its own.

“As far as we know, the Canucks are hoping they will be 100 per cent vaccinated amongst their players when they get to training camp next Thursday, but this is an NHLPA thing. The Players Association, the union that they are, they didn’t want to make a hard and fast rule that you have to be vaccinated. The players did want their say on that. We’ve seen coaches around the league say, ‘I’m not willing to get vaccinated, so I’m not going to be an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets this year,’ which is what Sylvain Lefebvre said last week. The players do have a little bit more freedom in that there is no mandate, but that, again, is something that has been discussed with the Players Association and until the Players Association would come to full agreement on that, then the players won’t go that far to make it a full mandate.”

Riccio says the NHLPA understands the risk for players but is not willing to make them do something they may not want to.

Something else to keep in mind when the regular season gets underway is what fan capacity will look like at Rogers Arena. The NHL, working in conjunction with public health officials, says only about 50 per cent of the 18,630 seats can be filled. That rule also applies to the Montreal Canadians, however, both Calgary and Edmonton can entertain full arenas despite Alberta struggling with COVID-19.

The Canucks’ home opener will be Oct. 26 against the Minnesota Wild. It will be the team’s first time playing in front of fans in almost 600 days.

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