Vancouver Canucks captain and reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes returned to play on Wednesday after a season that’s been haunted by three injuries in a two-month span.
Hughes registered an assist and logged 29:48 of ice time in the Canucks’ 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames—11 days after his last appearance.
Since Christmas, Quinn has been sidelined for 14 total games, which is more than he missed in the previous five-and-a-half years combined.
With the Canucks fighting desperately to keep their playoff hopes alive, Hughes’ absence has likely cost them at least a couple of points in the race.
“Really disappointing,” Hughes said to reporters on Friday following practice. “Obviously, I felt like my game was in a really good spot. I missed four games (after Christmas), and then missed 4 Nations, and then ran into some complications. It wasn’t the way I saw it going. But also, you know, as far as injuries go, (they are) minor.
“You look at my brother and his season’s over. So for me, I’m lucky that I’m able to come back and play.”
Hughes’ injury troubles began with a hand injury that sidelined him for four games after Christmas. He then missed six more before the February break due to a strained oblique. Hughes then sat out the most recent four-game homestand after landing awkwardly against the Seattle Kraken on March 1.
“I think just with the (oblique) injury I had, I try to come back and then other things were not as strong because I was overworking different muscles from the previous injury,” Hughes said. “I haven’t really had an injury like that before, where it just felt like a little bit of a domino effect. But we have a great group of trainers here to be able to get healthy and ready to go.
“I feel like I’ve missed time and I need to — we only have 17 games left (and) probably need 10 or 11 wins — find my best and try to help our team win games.”