Quinn Hughes not travelling with Canucks, could join in Minnesota or Nashville: report

Quinn Hughes will not be travelling with the Vancouver Canucks as they begin their upcoming road trip, according to a report from Patrick Johnston of the Province.

The Canucks are set to head out on a three-game road trip where they will play the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, and the Nashville Predators on Monday. According to Johnston, Hughes is currently not travelling with the team, implying that he will miss a third game on Thursday, but there is a possibility of him joining the team for the later games against the Wild and Predators.

The defenceman has missed the past two games for the Canucks with a lower-body injury. The cause of the injury is unknown, as he logged in 26:25 of ice time in his most-recent game, a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, but was then out of the lineup for both their 4-3 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday and their 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

When he’s been in the lineup, Hughes has been good but not quite performing at his usual level. That said, with one goal and six assists for seven points in nine games, most defensemen would gladly take that performance, and the Canucks captain will surely take that extra step as the season carries on.

The Canucks already find themselves dealing with a significant number of injuries early on in the season. Their blueline alone has seen Guillaume Brisebois, Derek Forbort and Victor Mancini go down with injuries in addition to Hughes, as well as Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil, Conor Garland and Jonathan Lekkerimaki up front. As a result, 29 different players have already dressed for the Canucks so early on in the season.

The Canucks will look to overcome these injury problems and end their slump of four losses in their last five games when they visit the Blues on Thursday at 5 p.m. PST. Vancouver currently sits in sixth in the Pacific Division with a 5-6-0 record.