If V/M continue after the Olympics into the next quadrennial, the turmoil in Canadian ice dance will continue, with more teams splitting. 15 ice dance teams completed at Canadian Nationals in 2015, and 14 in 2016, but only 9 in 2017 (including V/M). That would be great for V/M and the Canadian medal count, but not so great for the future of Canadian ice dance should V/M suddenly suffer an injury or decide to retire.
so you are saying that if they don't retire, it will be turmoil... and then, it will be not so great for the future if they retire
Here is what my crystal ball is saying : Piper and Paul will continue ... and with or without V/M they will get higher results. In the meantime, because, let's not forget that 2019 WC are far far away, Lajoie and Lagha will reach senior status. They are incredibly promising and probably represent the biggest hope for Canadian Ice dance... they held their own at the Junior WC this year, despite being much younger than the other teams.
After the big split event, which may or may not be related to VM's return, it may have been the final blow for some teams but I don't think it was for most team who were not even close to Weapo and Piper and Paul... a few new teams have connected... I saw some potential at Nationals this year... and was pleasantly surprised. We will see how things develop but it's not a black hole below VM.