Breaking: NHL team hit with an outbreak of the mumps virus!

If you wanted a surefire way to get teams to avoid discussing trades with you at the deadline, this is probably about as close as you could get.

On Friday the Vancouver Canucks announced that their locker room had been hit by an outbreak of the mumps virus, impacting several of their players and obviously raising serious concerns about the possible spread of the virus.

"We're taking this very seriously given how easily mumps can spread," said Canucks General Manager, Jim Benning. "At this point Troy Stecher is the only player with a confirmed test result. Chris Tanev, Nikita Tryamkin, Mike Chaput and Markus Granlund have each presented symptoms. We'll continue to follow all protocols in accordance with Vancouver Coastal Health guidelines in order to prevent further infection."

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It's a real concern for the Canucks who are battling for a playoff spot with several players now forced to sit out, and one has to wonder if it will genuinely scare off rival GMs who don't want to risk trading for a player who could end up spreading the virus to his other players.