Canucks approaching Return to Play Plan as 'new season': report

The Vancouver Canucks are viewing the Return to Play Plan like the start of a season and have used the NHL pause to work on tactical changes, coach Travis Green told Sportsnet.

"It's almost like going into a new season," Green said in remarks published Friday. "… We've gone through every part of our game. I think we had a really strong understanding before we started [the pause] about the areas we had to get better. I think we had an understanding even during the season, to be honest. But now, can we make a change to help those areas become better but still not be at a risk of losing what we're good at either?"

The Return to Play Plan includes 24 teams, 12 each from the Eastern and Western conferences, competing for the Stanley Cup. It will begin with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which include 16 teams playing eight best-of-5 series, and a round-robin among the top four teams in each conference to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The qualifiers will be held at two hub cities to be identified -- one for the 12 Eastern Conference teams and one for the 12 Western Conference teams -- and begin at a date to be determined.

The Canucks (36-27-6, .565 points percentage), the No. 7 seed in the West, will play the No. 10 seed Minnesota Wild (35-27-7, .558) in a qualifier series. The winner will advance to the playoffs.

The NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and facilities were closed. The NHL and NHL Players' Association announced Thursday that training camps will open July 10 under Phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan, provided medical and safety conditions allow and the parties have reached an agreement on resuming play. The length of training camp has not been determined.

Green said one area the Canucks coaches have focused on during the pause is improving defensively. Vancouver allowed an average of 3.10 goals per game this season, tied with the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens for 19th in the NHL, and gave up at least four goals in five of its final seven games (2-5-0).

"There are certain things I notice in our team that I've wanted to do for a while," Green said. "The skill in our group is getting to a level now where I can do that."