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Canucks Issue Injury Update on Quinn Hughes & Elias Pettersson

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Dec 30, 2024 6:30 AM ET

The Vancouver Canucks are set to continue their postseason push without two of their key players, defenseman Quinn Hughes and forward Elias Pettersson, as injuries will keep both men on the sidelines for varying periods of time.

Head coach Rick Tocchet offered updates on Sunday, confirming Hughes is “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury, while Pettersson is expected back in about a week.

“They’re not going to make the trip,” Tocchet said Sunday. “Petey is probably a week away, give or take a day here or there, and Quinn is probably week to week.

”That’s the update we have for them.”

The Canucks upcoming road trip includes games at Calgary and Seattle and missing two of the best players in the organization will surely be a blow to a Vancouver squad sitting fourth in the Pacific Division with 42 points but in possession of the first Wild Card berth in the Western Conference.

Hughes leads the Canucks with 42 points and ranks second in scoring among NHL defensemen. He last played, through injury, in a 4–3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 23 logging 24:45 of ice time and recording two assists.

“Well, what he has (injured), he couldn’t have hurt anymore,” Tocchet said in defense of playing Hughes even if he was visibly hurt. "He’s a tough kid, and he won us the game with a couple of assists.

"I don’t think him not playing would have made any difference. We’re all hockey players, you want to play. He gutted it out for us, and we won the game.”

Pettersson, meanwhile, sustained his injury in the same game, leaving after just one shift in the third period. Before his exit, he had notched two goals in a 44-second span during the second period.

The star forward is second on the team in scoring with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) even amid the internal drama surrounding him and fellow forward J.T. Miller.

The Canucks won't return home until Saturday when they'll face the Nashville Predators, making it a full week since the first game (last Saturday) that both Hughes and Pettersson were forced to miss while recovering from their injuries.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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