In an injury update, the Vancouver Canucks will be without two of their biggest stars, Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, for their upcoming road games against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday and the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed Sunday that both players will be sidelined with undisclosed injuries and provided updates on their expected returns.
What’s interesting is the narrative that Tocchet might be partially responsible for the latest update on Hughes, and this isn’t the first time the team has come under fire for how they’ve managed injuries to some of their top stars.
The Canucks Injury Timeline
The injury update on Quinn Hughes is that the all-star defenseman and the team’s captain is considered week-to-week with an injury sustained during the Dec. 23 game against the San Jose Sharks. Despite being a game-time decision, Hughes played through the injury without hardly missing a beat. He logged 24:45 of ice time and registered two assists in a 4-3 victory. Tocchet praised Hughes, saying, “He’s just a tough kid, and he won us the game with a couple of assists.”
Tocchet denied that allowing Hughes to play did any further damage to an existing issue, but he’s being questioned anyway. Jeff Paterson tweeted, “I asked Rick Tocchet about the wisdom of Hughes playing the San Jose game on the 23rd.” The response was “Well, he couldn’t have hurt what he has any more.” Tochett added, “We’re all hockey players. You want to play. He gutted it out for us and we won the game.”
The question now is, ‘At what cost?’
Hughes has been a cornerstone for the Canucks this season, putting up 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) and holds a plus-14 rating in 34 games. His absence leaves a significant hole in Vancouver’s blue line.
emains focused on maintaining their playoff position. Someone else has to step up, but who will it be?