Canucks' Suter still hasn't skated after setback in injury recovery process
Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter’s recovery from an injury sustained earlier in the month has not gone as expected.
Head coach Rick Tocchet provided an update on the centreman’s health status today after practice and said that Suter experienced “a little bit of a setback” about a week ago.
When Suter first started missing games, he was said to be day-to-day. However, he has now missed more than two weeks of action and was recently placed on the injury reserve list.
“It’s improving minimally. I thought it would be improving a little bit more,” the head coach told media at Rogers Arena today. “We’re frustrated too. He’s a missing piece that we really want but we’ve got to get him healthy and he’s not healthy right now.”
The last game that Suter played was on November 12 against the Montreal Canadiens. Prior to that, he was finding his form as he had scored four goals in his last five contests.
The Switzerland nativeĀ signed with the Canucks this past summer on a two-year contract worth $1.6 million per season. With four goals in 15 games this year, he’s scoring at a career-high goals-per-game pace.
The exact nature of Suter’s injury is still unknown, with Tocchet only offering that it’s a “lower-body” issue today. The forward has not yet resumed skating, the first step in making his return to the lineup.
“We thought it would be a little bit quicker but it hasn’t,” Tocchet said during his press conference today.
āHe needed a reset. Worked with him on a few things. Some video. I thought he had a good practice today. Thatās what Iām looking for tomorrow.ā
š£ Head Coach Rick Tocchet speaks on Kuzmenko, importance of practice and getting back to the team's staples, injury updates and more. pic.twitter.com/uErfcLiZoM
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 27, 2023
Prior to his injury, Suter was finding a good deal of chemistry on a line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua. The trio has played just over 73 minutes together at five-on-five this season and controlled nearly 70% of the expected goals. They have not been on the ice for a goal against during those minutes.