Canucks' COVID-19 season was just a down-the-road kind of thing

3 years ago  /  The Province Hockey  /  Read Time: 45 seconds

There are now 18 teams around the NHL who are either putting fans in the stands or have plans to do so. They are all, of course, in the U.S.





You can debate whether many of those places south of the border are actually in an appropriate public health position to be allowing groups of people to congregate in cold buildings — the U.S.’s high infection and strong vaccination rates are also combining to make this all a moot point in the near future too — but it’s happening, and you know that owners like Vancouver Canucks boss Francesco Aquilini are dreaming of being able to do the same.





The NHL has lost billions of dollars in the past year, so any chance to reduce those loses, even a small amount, is appealing. The players accepted what amounted to drastic pay cuts in the form of heightened escrow for this season and the next as part of a new collective bargaining agreement





But the Canucks remain beholden to public health rules. As long as indoor gatherings are restricted to 50 people, they can’t put fans in the stands.





The B.C. Ministry of Health has long made it clear that the gathering restrictions are likely to be among the last things removed, sometime after herd immunity has been achieved through our nascent mass-vaccination program.





Going into this season, the Canucks built out contingency plans for putting even a small number of fans in the stands, if there approval is given by the province.





With no realistic hope of generating revenue from home games, ownership dialed back heavily on spending this season by cutting down on the actual player budget — though not limiting the salary cap number, which doesn’t often reflect the real dollars paid to a player in a given year — and terminating a large portion of the team’s off-ice staff. They’ve also played hardball with the coaching staff, whose contracts expire this summer.





Going into next season, there is cautious optimism that full crowds will be allowed in Rogers Arena. That will be a relief to ownership.





But after several seasons of aimless spending that’s done nothing but tie the team’s roster flexibility up in mediocrity, will there be the leadership to steer the ship toward open waters and eventually the Stanley Cup’s promised land?





pjohnston@postmedia.com





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