The Vancouver Canucks might have a big hole in their lineup for tonight’s contest.
Quinn Hughes is a game-time decision as the team takes on the San Jose Sharks at home. If he doesn’t play, it’ll be the first game he’s missed this season.
Head coach Rick Tocchet broke the news during his pre-game media availability. He said that the 25-year-old skated this morning like normal but is fighting through something.
“He’s dealing with a couple of things and we’ll figure it out at game time. He’ll probably want to play, but I’ll make that decision. It just happened last game.” said Tocchet per Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma.
Tocchet said Hughes is a game-time decision. Skated this morning, dealing with something that just popped up. #Canucks
— Ben Kuzma 🇺🇦 (@benkuzma) December 23, 2024
The injury is affecting Hughes’ hand per Canucks insider and host of Down to Irf Irfaan Gaffar.
Hughes’ absence would be sorely felt. The Canucks badly need the defenceman who has been their best player so far this year. He’s got 40 points in 33 games and is performing better than he did last season when he won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman.
Even with all their blueliners healthy, the Canucks defence group is a weakness on their roster. They might now have to play not only without Hughes but also without top-pair staple Filip Hronek, who is out long-term.
This news comes during a time of turmoil for the Canucks. The team is just 3-3-4 in their last 10 games. A reported feud between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson has led to lots of noise in the market. Neither of those two stars are playing well, but they’ll need to find their game tonight to help the team with Hughes possibly not in the lineup.
The Sharks are in last place in the Pacific Division, so if there was a game for Hughes to miss, this might be the one. It’s the Canucks last game before a short holiday break. They’ll play their next contest after tonight’s on December 28 against the Seattle Kraken.