The Vancouver Canucks have announced that forward Adam Gaudette has tested positive for COVID and has entered protocol. This newest piece of information is yet another setback in a season that has not gone according to plan. The team announced the Gaudette news as well as several other small updates Tuesday afternoon.
No update on Petey, still skating on his own.
Virtanen wasn’t feeling well so he stayed home today.
Gaudette has tested positive and entered COVID protocol.
(Per Coach Green)
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 30, 2021
Canucks Adam Gaudette Tests Positive For COVID
Gaudette has taken a big step backwards in 2020-21. He looked poised to excel this year after scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 59 games last year, but he has just four and seven in 33 games to this point. This is despite having roughly the same possession stats as 2019-20. It’s easy to say he wouldn’t shoot 16 percent in a second straight campaign, but 6.8 percent is a steep drop. That would be the lowest shooting percentage in his four seasons dating back to his brief debut in 2017-18. He’s certainly the victim of some bad luck as Evolving Hockey’s model says he should have roughly 1.14 goals-per-60 minutes instead of the current mark of .67.
The Canucks originally drafted Gaudette in the fifth round of the 2015 Draft. Inconsistency aside, it seems like the found a competent middle or bottom-six scoring option who can also play with a power-play unit. There isn’t much upside for the 6’1″ Massachusetts native, but he’s better than many other options they might acquire given their salary constraints.
How Vancouver Replaces Gaudette
There isn’t a lot of depth on the way for the Canucks. The team has several major contributors on injured reserve already. Most of their current taxi squad are defenders as well. It may take several moves to adequately cover this gap in the lineup. The easiest move is to move Zach MacEwen back to the active roster, but someone may just play out of position until a better fix is determined.
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