There have been unprecedentedresponses in the sports world to theunprecedented situation it's currently experiencing. Hockey has been no exception. As the coronavirus pandemic continuedto escalatein North America, several minor and junior leagues canceled the remainderof their seasons, including playoffs , and the NHL paused its regular seasonMarch 12 . With teams still having 11 to 14 gamesleft on their schedules, the league has given no indication as to how it will handle Yahya Black Jersey things going forward. MORE: How the coronavirus has affected the hockey landscape There is one unprecedented event that NHL fans might end up appreciating when this is all over, however. Ifthe season resumes in time for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffsto take place and that's still a big if we could be seeing healthy playoff hockey for the first time. Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice spoke ofthe po sibility Thursday in a . "The positive upside of this is that when the pause is over, you're going to get an opportunity to see something that you've never seen, and that's healthy playoff hockey," he said. "In my roster at the end of the game ofinjuries, you have somewhere between eight and 13 guys that played that night that are dealing with something." Those numbers aren't exactly a surprise. Playing through injury has always been a part of the game, and the playoffs often become a battle of attrition.Most playersaren'teven close to 100 percent that late in the season, but good luck convincing them to stay off the ice with so much on the line. It's something that's easyto forget given how underreported injuries tend to be in the NHL, and it raises the question of just how different the playoffs would lookwith teams that have had time to rest and recover. It would definitely allow teams to be much closer to full strength than they normally are at the start of the postseason. Depending on what the schedule ends up beingthis year, even stars like the Lightning's Steven Stamkos and the Rangers' Chris Kreider could return in time for the postseason, to say nothing of the dozens of other top players whoseinjuries haven't been made public. Fans want to see the best players on the ice, not on the sidelines, and that's something theseasonpause could surprisingly end up helping to provide. MORE: NHL reportedly considering 24-team playoff format While you'd expect full-strength teams to play better hockey, there's also the matter of rust accumulated after several weeks away from the rink,but Maurice doesn't see that being an i sue. "It won't take these guys long to get their focus back," he said."I think they're pretty darn good now at keeping their conditioning right.I don't think anybody is taking time off, they're going to stay very, very fit, so I'm not sure when it's going to be but when we do come back you're going to see healthy, fit and very intense hockey." Of course, everything still depends on whether the NHL decidesto resume play this season. Hockey still looks a long way away from returning, but we could be treated to quite the spectacle if it does. Jamison Witte Jersey