Canucks doctor: Only virus to blame for team's COVID-19 outbreak

Vancouver Canucks physician Dr. Jim Brovard confirmed Friday that no one player is responsible for the team's severe COVID-19 outbreak.

"We know the individual had gone to a place within the guidelines," he said, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. "That place was subsequently found to have cases of COVID. ... We've made it clear within our group there's no culprit here aside from the (virus) itself."

Brovard and general manager Jim Benning held a press conference to update the team's situation. On Wednesday, the club announced 21 players and four staff members have tested positive, and the source of the infection was confirmed to be a variant.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN's Emily Kaplan on Thursday that the league hopes the Canucks can resume team activities by the end of next week. Benning confirmed Friday that the plan is still for the club to play a full 56-game schedule.

The Canucks have been out of action since March 24, and they were originally scheduled to miss a week's worth of games.

Vancouver sits fifth in the North Division with a 16-18-3 record through 37 games.