There was a lot of Vancouver Canucks news on Friday.
And I mean a lot of news. The Canucks made two major trades that shook up the team this season and also majorly impact their long-term outlook in the future.
First, they for a package including a first-round pick, then as part of a package for defenceman Marcus Pettersson.
In the final tally, the Canucks shipped out five current players and two prospects and received three players and a prospect in return, with a first-round pick also coming in and going out in the process. The Canucks also added some cap space, both for this season and into the future. At the current rate they’re accruing cap space, the Canucks could add as much as $11 million in cap hits at the trade deadline.
And, oh yeah, the Canucks also played a game against the Dallas Stars.
In fact, the biggest news of the day, at least as it impacts this season, might not even be either of the trades; it might be the health of Quinn Hughes.
Hughes left the game briefly in the third period. When he returned midway through the period, he played just three more shifts and was visibly grimacing in pain as he executed his normally effortless turns.
The trouble appeared to start after he knocked Evgenii Dadonov to the ice with a stiff check, as he appeared to catch an edge. When Dadonov returned the favour later in the shift, Hughes’ leg appeared to give out underneath him and he went straight to the bench.
Hughes played another shift after the hit but was already clearly in pain and went straight to the bench with the puck heading into the Canucks’ zone, which is very much out of character.
While Hughes made a dramatic return a few minutes after leaving the game, his shifts were generally short and Hughes was in obvious distress both on the ice and on the bench. That was particularly the case after his final shift, where he fanned on a pass, struggled to recover, then went straight to the bench. His anguished look on the bench was troubling.
“We’ll see,” said Hughes when asked how he was feeling after the game by Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy. “I have 48 hours here now to figure that out, so we’ll see how that goes.”
That Hughes even felt up to talking to Murphy after the game could be a positive sign. Then again, he also spoke to the media after the Canucks’ on December 23, then missed two weeks with a hand injury.
The Canucks can ill afford a significant injury to Hughes, especially a lower-body injury that affects his skating. That could be catastrophic for a team that is already on the playoff bubble and desperately needs to start stringing wins together. The odds that they can do that without their Hart Trophy candidate in the lineup are slim.
Oh, and on top of all that, the Canucks lost 5-3 to the Stars when I watched this game.
- Apologies for the lateness of this IWTG. I am but one man.
- The Canucks started strong but couldn’t capitalize early in the first period, which let the Stars get the opening goal. Filip Hronek was too slow to move the puck and didn’t see a hit from Colin Blackwell coming, allowing Blackwell to steal the puck and set up Oskar Bäck in front. Aatu Räty couldn’t tie up Bäck’s stick and Thatcher Demko didn’t come out to challenge, leaving him vulnerable to Bäck’s top-shelf finish.
- The Miller-less power play actually looked pretty good and generated 11 shots on goal, though it helps that they got five power play opportunities. The trouble was that they couldn’t find the back of the net in the first two periods, only getting a power play goal on their fifth opportunity when the game was essentially out of reach. That’s like , long after they’ve ceased producing stars.
- “The special teams won the battle: they got the power play goal and we couldn’t get it,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “But I thought, for the most part, the guys played hard.”
- The Canucks responded five minutes into the second period. Derek Forbort blocked a Matt Dumba shot and the Stars defenceman was caught while Nils Höglander and Conor Garland skated away on a 2-on-1. With Teddy Blueger in the centre lane to prevent Dumba from getting back in the play, Höglander feathered a pass through to Garland, who slid the puck into the open net.
- Höglander had a strong game in a third-line role. He set up the Canucks’ first goal and drew two penalties with his shifty skating. He should have drawn a third penalty, as he took a stick to the chin that spouted blood all over his jersey, forcing him to switch it out for a clean one just before setting up Garland’s goal in his fresh laundry.
- Probably the funniest part of Höglander getting fixed up is that he doesn’t even look like he’s in pain. He’s just annoyed that the Stars made him all over his jersey.
- Höglander also sent Logan Stankoven flying with a reverse hit in the third period. If he can get back to his “” ways, that would be big for the Canucks.
- After the Canucks’ power play went 0-for-3, the Stars capitalized on their first opportunity, taking advantage of now-former-Canuck Danton Heinen losing his stick. It was a slick passing play: Matt Duchene went cross-crease to Wyatt Johnston, who set up Jason Robertson in the slot, who had the entire net to shoot at as Demko couldn’t recover from sliding across to face Johnston. It didn’t help that Tyler Myers and Filip Hronek were nowhere near any of the Stars players.
- The Stars made it 3-1 in the third period when Noah Juulsen took a wide turn at the point after a turnover, looking like . That allowed Roope Hintz, the Stars’ leading goalscorer, to get in behind Juulsen for a breakaway and he tucked the puck five-hole on Demko.
- That was the last goal the Stars scored on Demko, as their next two goals were into the empty net. Demko gave up three goals on 14 shots — not a great night, even taking into account the defensive breakdowns that led to the goals. That was the type of situation where Demko used to bail out his team and give them a chance to win but he’s not back to that level just yet.
- The Stars made it 4-1 with about three-and-a-half minutes left after Tocchet pulled Demko for the extra attacker on the power play to go 6-on-4. Pettersson tied up the faceoff, but all three forwards at his side jumped forward, with no one backing him up to help dig the puck free. When Hintz got the puck free, there was no one above him to prevent him shooting for the empty net.
- Jake DeBrusk got one back later in the power play with about two minutes left. His first attempt snuck through Jake Oettinger’s legs but hit the post but Pettersson set him up with another chance at the side of the net. This time, instead of shooting, DeBrusk jammed it and snuck the puck five-hole again and just over the goal line.
- The goal gave the Canucks false hope that they could mount a comeback and they pulled Demko again for the extra attacker, only for Robertson to hit the empty net from the neutral zone to make it 5-2.
- Then, just for fun, the Canucks added another goal in the final minute. Phil Di Giuseppe drove into the slot, then slid a no-look pass to Carson Soucy for a one-timer. Oettinger, screened by Räty, Heinen, and a couple of his own defencemen, never saw the pass and Soucy had an open net.
- Both of the Canucks’ late goals came with Demko in the net, leaving open the possibility that if they never pulled Demko for the extra attacker, they would have tied the game. But you can’t bank on that happening and pulling the goalie was the right move. It’s just that hockey is weird, man. We’re all just a bunch of atoms bumping together, you know?
- Okay, I’m losing it. I’ve written too many words in too little time and they’re going to stop making sense pretty soon. The Canucks lost. Winning streak over at three. Moving on.
