Wednesday was a whirlwind of activity, as the Vancouver Canucks took their morning skate and prepared for their game against the Calgary Flames, only to have the game cancelled and postponed at the eleventh hour after another player and a member of the coaching staff joined Adam Gaudette in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol.
Now, the Canucks are in stasis, waiting to see what comes next.
Players and staff did their daily PCR test on Thursday morning — drive-through style to prevent any further close contacts — and then went home to isolate and await the results. As they did on Wednesday, the Canucks have paid to have the results expedited and should receive word of any further positive cases by Thursday evening.
If a member of the coaching staff tested positive for COVID-19, and wasn't just put in the protocol as a high-risk close contact, then the Canucks will likely see more games suspended. The members of the coaching staff all work closely together and would likely need to also isolate as close contacts.
The names of the player and coach that entered the protocol on Wednesday have yet to be released. Teams are required to do so by 5pm local time but they entered the protocol after that time on Wednesday.
The one person who we do know is in the COVID-19 protocol, and definitely tested positive for the coronavirus, is Adam Gaudette. The Canucks forward initially left practice on Tuesday when his Monday test result came in, then had his result confirmed by Tuesday's daily test. He'll be required to quarantine for at least 10 days, possibly longer.
Gaudette's wife, Micaela, shared an update on her Twitter account about her and her husband.
"I’ve been feeling fine other than being tired and I just woke up with a bad headache," she shared. "My hubby isn’t in great shape but I’m taking good care of him! Thank you to all that have said kind things to us during this time."
The thank you to those who have said kind things is notable because of how many people haven't been so kind. Micaela called out those who have said hurtful things in a separate tweet, pointing out the absurdity of complaining about being unable to watch a game on TV given the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The virus is a tough blow to Gaudette, who said heading into the season that he had finally figured out a stomach problem that had prevented him from putting on weight. As a result, he was feeling the healthiest he had ever felt, at one point excitedly reporting that he was playing at 180 lbs for the first time.
Hopefully, Gaudette will be able to quickly recover from COVID-19 and get back to exercising and feeling healthy again.
