Ferland re-joins Canucks after being declared “unfit to play”

In case you missed it earlier this week, the Vancouver Canucks announced that forward Micheal Ferland has been deemed “unfit to play” and will not join the team for its training camp.

Check it out:

Group 1 update: Micheal Ferland is unfit to play today.

While it wasn’t exactly clear whether or not Ferland was dealing with an injury or an illness, the use of the term “unfit to play” raised some eyebrows across the NHL. In fact, other players like Timothy Liljegren of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Corey Crawford were also deemed “unfit to play”, which lead several media members to wonder if the term is actually a covert phrase for “has contracted COVID-19.” 

Whatever the case is with Liljegren, Crawford or any other NHLer deemed “unfit to play”, Ferland has re-joined the Canucks for day three of training camp. 

Check it out:

Micheal Ferland is on the ice with the extra group today.

So, evidently his issue was not COVID-19 as he has not been forced into isolation and quarantine.

In any case, this is fantastic news for both Ferland and the Canucks. The 28 year old Ferland has battled concussions and post concussion symptoms for over a calendar year now. He was able to play just 14 games for the Canucks this season after suffering setback after setback in his attempt to recover from a concussion suffered last season during his time with the Carolina Hurricanes. Here's hoping that whatever ailed Ferland earlier this week is nothing serious and that he can get back to banging bodies and making a difference on the ice.

After all the last time the Canucks made a post-season appearance, Ferland himself factored into things in a BIG way. Remember the battles between Ferland, then on the Calgary Flames, and then Canucks blueliner Kevin Bieksa back in 2015?

Allow me to remind you:

The fact is that Ferland gives the Canucks an edge that they wouldn't otherwise have. Sure, they have oodles of talent with the likes of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes. But at the end of the day it takes some grit guys like Ferland to create some space in the playoffs. Again, here's hoping that he's back in full health and ready to rock when the puck drops in the Canucks opening round "play in" series against the Minnesota Wild.