Vancouver Canucks coach Tocchet throws playful jab at Tkachuk in Hughes injury update
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet had some fun during his Quinn Hughes injury update today.
Hughes is set to miss another contest tonight. He’s played just three games since February 1 and missed the entire 4 Nations Face-Off, a decision that some on Team USA didn’t agree with.
American forward Brady Tkachuk called out the Canucks for holding Hughes out of the 4 Nations final, describing the move as “shady business” and adding, “We all know who they were cheering for.”
Tocchet threw back a lighthearted jab when discussing Hughes’ health with reporters in Vancouver today.
“We laugh at the ‘4 Nations, shady business’ all of a sudden. We can’t even play the guy, so how was he going to play for the Americans? That’s kind of the hard part. Quinn is dealing with some stuff, and it’s unfortunate.”
Tocchet was an assistant coach for Canada at the tournament and helped lead them to an overtime victory in the championship over Team USA. Now that he’s back in Vancouver, his focus has shifted back to the Canucks, where he’s trying to lead the team to the playoffs without their best player.
For Hughes, it’s a lower-body injury related to something he tweaked last game against the Seattle Kraken. He didn’t play the final nine minutes of that contest and won’t play tonight.Ā
The Canucks have just 22 games left on their schedule and are firmly in the playoff race. It’s not the time to have your captain out of the lineup, and head coach Rick Tocchet delivered more bad news when he said he doesn’t expect Hughes to fully heal this season, although that’s typical for many players around this time of year.
The injuries started for Hughes with a mangled hand back in January. He was wearing a large brace for some time and then suffered a reported oblique injury, which kept him out of the 4 Nations. He’s played three games since the NHL schedule resumed but looked far less than 100%, and pushing himself in those contests seems to have contributed to his current ailment.
“That has happened, yes, there’s a part of that, yes,” confirmed Tocchet. “You’re dealing with something, something else kind of gets affected… it’s pain, it’s a lot of different things, how tight you are and all that sort of stuff.”
The Canucks will hope they find a balance in managing Hughes’ minutes going forward. Without him, any chance of making the playoffs is likely over, and any chance of a postseason run is definitely gone.