GM Benning: Vancouver Canucks will be 100% vaccinated by season opener
On the eve of training camp, Canucks general manager Jim Benning said the organization will be fully vaccinated by the time Vancouver opens the regular season on Oct. 13.
“So by the time the season starts, we will be 100 per cent,” said Benning. “Players, everybody on the staff, everybody in the front office, everybody’s been vaccinated.”
He said it wasn’t difficult to convince the players to roll up their sleeves. Most of them got sick with COVID-19 last season.
“What we went through last year as a team was really hard,” said Benning. “It wasn’t just hard on the players, but their families too. A lot of these guys have young kids and they all ended up getting sick. So I think as a group, they knew the importance of getting vaccinated and to give ourselves the best chance to get back to normal.”
Canucks forward JT Miller said, “I’m just trying to do my part. I got vaccinated, did what I had to come here and do my job, that’s what I get paid to do.”
Players must be vaccinated to cross the border into Canada without having to quarantine. The 15 or so NHL players who are so far refusing to be vaccinated, including Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi and the Blue Jackets' Zac Rinaldo, won’t be paid for games they miss in Canada.
An unnamed Edmonton Oiler is also unvaccinated. Oilers GM Ken Holland says by his calculation, he could miss more than 30 games in the U.S.
“I talked to him a few times, not sure where he is at. I’m going to talk to him in the next day or so,” said Holland, who suggested that player may not be able to slide back into the lineup for games he is allowed to play.
"If we are playing good, I don’t think you take somebody out to put that person in. So obviously its going to be very difficult,” said Holland. He hopes the unvaccinated player changes his mind, but isn’t preventing him from attending training camp.
“I think the player is going through a process to decide because it’s a difficult decision, so I want to give the person the appropriate time,” said Holland.
But the Columbus Bluejackets have told Rinaldo he’s not allowed to attend training camp.
“Everything we do together we do as a team, and as we continue to navigate COVID-19, it’s no different. We have to do what we have to do,” said Bluejackets GM John Davidson. “We have a responsibility as the leaders of the organization. We want our people vaccinated.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Remembering legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole. Oh baby, what a life
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Born June 24, 1933, the St. John's, N.L., native provided a distinctive soundtrack to Canada's game. He was known for his signature 'Oh baby' call, an expression that was not restricted to hockey arenas.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.