"Conspiracy theorists relax: It's not Kevin Bieksa's heart that tore him away from the Vancouver Canucks over the weekend, it was his lungs.

The defenceman said after returning to practice today that he has pneumonia. It was merely a coincidence he suddenly left the National Hockey League team after his close friend, Rick Rypien, took an indefinite leave of absence related to mental health.

"We'll see how tomorrow goes," Bieksa said. "I plan on practising tomorrow and plan on playing in Calgary [on Wednesday]. I'm on the homestretch, hopefully. I feel a lot better today than I did a few days ago."

The Canucks should know tomorrow whether third-line centre Manny Malhotra will be able to make the road trip to Calgary and Chicago. He missed practice this morning due to what coach Alain Vigneault said is the flu, which is also what Bieksa was supposed to be suffering from.

Bieksa, who left Monday's workout before Vigneault ended it with a conditioning skate, said he had the flu during the Canucks' tour through Eastern Canada three weeks ago. He doesn't believe his illnesses are related."