VANCOUVER — Returning to regular programming in any National Hockey League city will be, by definition, a letdown from the addictive drama and thrilling emotions of the Olympics and a Canada-USA final that was one of the greatest hockey games ever played.

Returning for the Vancouver Canucks’ final 25 games? Well, you better bring a black umbrella and comfortable shoes because it has the potential to become a two-month funeral procession.

The Canucks can’t let this happen.

As veteran Teddy Blueger, the Latvian Olympian, told us after the Canucks crawled into the NHL schedule break with lopsided losses in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in early February, there is much more to play for than the standings. 

“We’re not playing for nothing,” he told Sportsnet. “I think we’ve got to find some character in our group. I know we have some good guys that want to win and know how to win and to compete and play hard, but I think we’ve got to find it as a team. Just find, you know, probably some more respect for each other, some appreciation to be in this league (and) not take that for granted, not just go through the motions because we’re last in the league. You know, come in and compete.”

The final two months of the regular season — and especially the countdown to the NHL’s trade deadline on March 6 — are massive for Canucks president Jim Rutherford and his management team as the organization undertakes its deepest rebuild this century.

Blueger, the most appealing of the Canucks eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, is likely to be traded. Potential UFAs Evander Kane and David Kampf are other candidates to go, although Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin have made it clear they’ll listen in trade calls on almost any of their players.

And there is, of course, the ongoing on-ice development of a handful of first- and second-year players who have been forced by circumstance to make their learning mistakes at the NHL level.

The team will be encouraged by the return of most, but not all, of their injured players when the Canucks’ Olympic break ends with Wednesday’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets. 

Cursed centre Filip Chytil, who was close to returning from serious concussion and migraine issues, suffered a facial fracture when hit in the face by a deflected puck on Wednesday and is now out indefinitely.

A better lineup should give the Canucks a better chance to win. But the team is so far behind in the standings, seven points adrift of the 31st-place St. Louis Blues, that it’s safe to continue debating whether it should take Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg with the first-overall draft pick (even though everyone in Vancouver has been conditioned by history to believe fervently that the team will lose both draft-lottery draws and select no higher than third).

There is a lot going on that will affect the organization’s future.

But these final games are important also for what Blueger was talking about — for the opportunity to start building culture and developing character so whichever players survive the rebuild won’t be in this same position a year from now.

“Yeah, I understand what he’s saying,” winger Drew O’Connor said. “I mean, I don’t doubt that we have character in the room, and we have the guys to fight and get through tough times. But I think it has to be different guys at different points. When you go through a stretch where you’re not winning a lot, it can’t kind of be the same voices always speaking up. We kind of have to lift each other up. 

“The focus has to be on playing the right way, building kind of a winning culture a little bit. Not really think about where we’re at in the standings so much, but focus on the process of getting better every day and building towards something. I think we have to approach each game (like it) is meaningful.”

Many of the Canucks were aware what Blueger, a Stanley Cup winner with the Golden Knights three years ago, said after the 5-2 loss in Vegas. 

“It’s right after a game where you lose, so emotions are high,” veteran defenceman Marcus Pettersson said. “But I agree with him. The one thing I felt going into the break, we were emotionally all over the place. You know, we’d get frustrated, stuff like that. I think that we have to be better at being able to keep, like, the mood in the room (and) on the bench consistent.

“Character-wise, can we find that maturity and be able to have a high ceiling but also do it in the right way. That’s what I’m talking about — the emotional part of it.”

Winger Jake DeBrusk, who signed a seven-year free-agent contract with the Canucks in 2024 after going to the playoffs with the Boston Bruins for seven straight seasons, has never endured a campaign like this one.

“There’s a lot to be grateful for playing in the National Hockey League,” he said. “It’s something that you dream about as a kid; everyone wants to win the Stanley Cup. It’s been different this whole year, different for everybody. I think that it can bring out the worst in people (because) you tend to look at yourself and think, ‘What does this mean for me?’ And you start questioning different things. 

“It definitely hasn’t brought out the best in me in certain ways. But my goal is to take what I’ve learned from this season and push strong to the end. I think this time off gave me a little bit more perspective in terms of how everyone’s probably feeling the same way, even the younger guys. So I look at this as just an opportunity to finish strong.”

And the Canucks’ culture?

“I came from a group in Boston that had a lot of character, was known for their culture,” he said. “And I’m not calling people out or anything, but we’ve got to do that as a group. I’ve seen a lot that’s gone on (this season and last). There’s been a lot of changes, a lot of things that are not ideal in terms of trying to build a culture. 

“Culture is built off of winning. But you need a good culture to win, if that makes any sense. I don’t think we have a bad culture. But we have to be better, myself included.”

After four practices last week, the Canucks took Sunday off and will practise again Monday and Tuesday before returning to play Wednesday. 

Canuck Olympians Blueger, Kampf, Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek rejoined the team for Saturday’s practice, two days before coach Adam Foote had expected them back on Vancouver ice. Winger Brock Boeser, who left practice early on Friday, did not participate with the group on Saturday. Foote said Boeser has a viral illness but was being assessed to make sure there are no lingering issues from the concussion he suffered Jan. 25.