Vancouver Canucks give injury updates on Pettersson, Höglander, Chytil
The Vancouver Canucks haven’t been able to catch a break in the injury department this season.
Their bad luck continued today as head coach Rick Tocchet gave a lengthy injury update on three hurt forwards who have missed the last few games.
Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Nils Höglander have all missed at least the last few games. The Canucks have recalled many players from the surging Abbotsford team as reinforcements in their absence.
Chytil hasn’t played since being on the receiving end of a dirty hit near the end of the team’s March 15 game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
It was a scary moment for Chytil, who has a long history of concussions. It seems unlikely he’ll be available again this season, according to the team’s head coach.
“Good days and bad days he’s had,” said Tocchet today. “He’ll go out and skate, feel good, next day, not as good, so, to be honest, does he play this year? Maybe. The odds are against it, plus you don’t want to put a guy in that type of position. When a guy has good days and bad days, obviously, you’re not going to play the guy.”
Chytil played just 10 games in the 2023-24 season as he dealt with a concussion. It’s a concerning pattern and one that could put his career prospects into question.
“I don’t know,” responded Tocchet when asked if Chytil’s injury was career-threatening. “I talked to him today, and he says it was different than his last concussion; the bad days aren’t as bad, so that’s a positive. I think we’ve got to take the positive approach; plus, he’s got four or five months to rehabilitate himself.”
While the Canucks are unlikely to get Chytil back for their playoff push, Elias Pettersson could still make a return this year. The Swedish star is dealing with an upper-body injury suffered in a recent contest against the New York Rangers.
He wasn’t on the ice for practice today but is day-to-day. He’s gone through a couple of light skates since being injured and still feels some discomfort, per Tocchet, who is hopeful Pettersson can play more games this year.
“When a guy is day-to-day, you expect him to play, but I don’t know the discomfort level, where it’s going to go.”
The most optimistic update was on Höglander, who participated in today’s practice in a red non-contact jersey. The sparkplug forward will be the first of the three players to return.
“This guy wants to play so [badly]… is he close? He’s closer, I guess, than the other guys, but this guy wants to play so bad, so we’ve got to be careful with that.”
The Canucks are six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, although they have a game in hand. Getting some of these key players back for the stretch run will be crucial for their slowly dying playoff hopes.