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Former Canucks sleep doctor Pat Byrne on Vancouver’s 2027-28 schedule: ‘One of the biggest messes I’ve ever seen’

Photo credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

By Clarke Corsan

Jul 22, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 22, 2026, 01:08 EDT

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Former Canucks sleep doctor Pat Byrne joined Sekeres and Price to discuss Vancouver’s 2027-28 schedule and the challenges it presents from a sleep and travel perspective, while also weighing in on concerns surrounding young players staying up late playing video games.

Byrne said some of the criticism directed toward younger players doesn’t account for how their bodies naturally function.

“Between early teens and early 20’s, players have what’s called an adolescent circadian rhythm,” Byrne said. “They naturally stay up late and naturally sleep in, which doesn’t change until you’re about 22 or 23 years old. We criticize guys for gaming late into the night, but what else are they going to do?

“Video games really aren’t that bad, as long as they’re not doing anything that stimulates the brain. The brain stimulation is what keeps you awake.”

The conversation then shifted to Vancouver’s upcoming schedule, which features several lengthy road trips and unusual travel demands.

“I’ve been doing this for about 20 years now, and this is one of the biggest messes I’ve ever seen,” Byrne said. “It’s very tricky. A lot of it has to do with the compressed schedule and time change in British Columbia. We’re going to permanent daylight savings time, so a third of the games they’ll play are on the schedule they’ve always been used to but two thirds of the season will be on the new schedule.

“It really messes up road trips and the circadian rhythms of the players. The NHL gives and takes away, so the time change for two thirds of the season is actually better because there will only be a two-hour difference with the teams out East, but then there’s nine home games that start at 8 p.m.”

Byrne also reflected on one of the changes he helped implement during his time with the Canucks: keeping the team overnight in road cities after back-to-back games instead of immediately flying home.

“The reality is, many NHL teams do it now,” Byrne said. “A lot of the things we did were adopted, as was staying overnight after back-to-back games. The real issue is the Canucks frankly got screwed when we did that because the NHL adopted the ‘day off’ system where players get a few days off per month now.

“That didn’t exist when we were with the Canucks. We essentially gave them a day off by staying over and their day off was flying back. Now, they have to give them a day off where they don’t travel, so we invented a monster,” he joked.

While Byrne believes the NHL has made improvements to its scheduling over the years, he said there is still room for improvement.

“The NHL has almost figured that out but they’re still a bit slow moving back into some time zones,” Byrne said. “It obviously has a lot to do with availability of arenas so it’s difficult.

“One thing the Canucks did when Gillis was there, they actually opened up Rogers Arena to the entire NHL. Any day, any time you want to go there they’d open it up. At most other arenas where teams played, the owner of the arena would just give certain time slots for the games to be played.”

When asked whether total travel distance is as significant as many fans believe, Byrne said the distance itself isn’t the biggest issue.

“The total amount of kilometres doesn’t really matter,” Byrne said. “It has to do with your direction of travel. Carolina for example, when they travel from the East to West, it’s a circadian advantage for them and it’s a disadvantage for Western teams going to the East. That shows up in every sports league in North America.

“It’s the time zone crossings that matter the most and the timing of the games. If Vancouver goes to New York and plays a 10 a.m. game, it really screws up their system. On a 10-day road trip, you’re not feeling normal until maybe day four of that trip.”

While the Canucks’ 2027-28 schedule presents some unique challenges, Byrne points to managing travel, recovery and sleep habits as the catalyst for keeping the players performing at the top of their game.

Watch the full interview with Byrne below!