'He's got a smile on his face': Looking good for Hughes to return soon for Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes skated with the team today as he continues his recovery journey.
The All-Star defenceman wore a red non-contact jersey while going through all the drills. Despite his jersey, he was a full participant in the skate, although the team didn’t do anything very physical.
Hughes hasn’t played since March 1 as he deals with an undisclosed injury. He’s fought through various ailments over the past few months, and the latest is a result of trying to play through a reported oblique injury.
Taking to the ice today was a positive step forward for Hughes. While head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed the captain wouldn’t play tonight, he appeared sharp and doesn’t look far off from returning.
Quinn Hughes flying around in a red non-contact jersey.#Canucks pic.twitter.com/ktqxpmE2h3
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) March 11, 2025
“It was a good day for him, he obviously did a little bit more than he has done. Seemed pretty good, but we didn’t have contact drills and stuff like that, so it’s hard to really evaluate that,” said coach Rick Tocchet about Hughes.
The Canucks only have 19 games left and not much practice time, so Hughes will need to jump back in at full speed when ready. They have a back-to-back today and tomorrow. While he’s been ruled out for tonight, there’s a chance he could play tomorrow on the road in Calgary.
“I think the frustrating part for him [is that] he wants to go all the time. I think the schedule of him skating some days, him not [some others] has helped,” continued Tocchet.
“Overall, I think he had a couple of really good days. He’s got a smile on his face today — that’s a good sign.”
Tomorrow’s game against the Calgary Flames is huge as the two teams jockey for playoff position. Hughes will likely want to play, it just remains to be seen if the team decides that’s the best path forward. Without a full practice under his belt, it may be ambitious to think he’ll play tomorrow, even considering what’s at stake.
If he doesn’t play tomorrow, the Canucks have a few days off until they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. They have a scheduled rest day on Thursday and a full practice on Friday. That should hopefully give Hughes the time he needs to participate fully in contact drills with the group before suiting up for a game.
The Canucks need their captain back. They’ve struggled mightily to create offence without him, and the Norris Trophy winner’s presence would help in that department a lot. Today was a positive step forward for Hughes, and it shouldn’t be much longer before he makes his grand return.