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Quinn Hughes

Snapshots: Canucks, Bruins, Viro

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It could be a long summer for the Vancouver Canucks. After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign in which they fell short of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the team lost their head coach and could have a few key players leave via free agency. It seems they will struggle to find suitable replacements on the free agent market.

Earlier today, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic passed along a note from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman articulating why top free agents don’t seem interested in joining the Canucks. Friedman points out that the internal rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller has steered players away in recent years, and captain Quinn Hughes’ pending unrestricted free agency in a few years is the other reason.

Any top free-agent signing in Vancouver would undoubtedly want Hughes to be part of the team for the long term. He has proven to be one of the best defensemen in the NHL and would significantly enhance the competitiveness of any team. Unfortunately, the Canucks are unable to provide a definitive answer this summer, as they cannot negotiate an extension with Hughes for another year. Additionally, there has been no indication of whether Hughes is interested in extending his contract with Vancouver.

Other snapshots:

  • As one of the few remaining teams still seeking a head coach, the Boston Bruins have reportedly made some headway in their search. According to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, the Bruins have completed their first round of interviews and have significantly narrowed down their pool. At the time of writing, and of the remaining coaches on the market, the Bruins have only been connected to Jay Leach, Mitch Love, and Luke Richardson.
  • A report out of Sweden suggests that the Detroit Red Wings could lose one of their defensive prospects in a few days. The report indicates that defenseman Eemil Viro will join the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks for the 2025-26 campaign. Viro, the 70th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft, had spent the last three years with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, scoring three goals and 19 points in 142 games with a -17 rating.

Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Zach Werenski Named Norris Trophy Finalists

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The Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, the Avalanche’s Cale Makar, and the Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski are the 2024-25 Norris Trophy finalists for the NHL’s top defenseman, per a league announcement.

There are no surprises in this triumvirate. While it’s likely to be a closer race than yesterday’s Vezina Trophy announcement, Makar’s the frontrunner after setting a new career high with 30 goals and 92 points in 80 games. Now a Norris finalist five times in six years to begin his career, the 26-year-old became the first rearguard since Mike Green in 2008-09 to hit the 30-goal mark. He was the first to also eclipse 90 points in the same year since Paul Coffey in 1988-89.

Makar’s defensive impacts also rebounded after a strikingly pedestrian 2023-24 season in his own end. He posted a 56.6 CF% at even strength and a 59.4 xGF%, the latter standing as a career-high over a non-shortened season. He’s finished third in Norris voting the last two years after winning the award in 2022, but he’s almost certainly set to get back into the top two.

If not for an oblique injury taking a bite out of his campaign, Hughes would have more of a chance to win back-to-back Norris Trophies for the first time since Nicklas Lidström’s three-peat from 2006 to 2008. The 5’10” lefty matched the 1.12 points-per-game rate that won him the honors last year and finished the year with 16-60–76 in 68 games, his fourth straight campaign above the 60-assist mark. Hughes’ 25:44 time on ice per game trailed only Werenski among skaters.

As for Werenski, he becomes the first defenseman in Blue Jackets franchise history to earn a Norris nomination. The 27-year-old finished eighth in voting in 2019-20 but hasn’t received any consideration since then. He exploded back onto the scene in 2024-25, driving Columbus’ resurgent seventh-ranked offense with a team-high 82 points in 81 games. His 1.01 points per game were third in the league behind Makar and Hughes, but a higher percentage of his offensive production came at even strength. 35 and 29 of Makar’s and Hughes’ points came with the man advantage, while Werenski had only 25 power-play points and matched Makar’s 54 even-strength points to lead defensemen. Werenski also led defensemen with 298 shots on goal and ranked third in the league overall.

Injury Notes: Hughes, Pettersson, Anderson, Crosby

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The Vancouver Canucks could be a few star players short in their first game back out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Head coach Rick Tocchett (shared via Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre) confirmed that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be available against the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow due to injuries.

No report specified what type of injury Pettersson is dealing with but he’s only expected to miss a day or two. Meanwhile, Hughes’ oblique injury precluded him from participating in the international hockey tournament although he did attempt to return for the championship bout between Canada and the United States.

Vancouver entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break on the heels of a 6-1-1 record. Pettersson and Hughes could miss the second half of the back-to-back against the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday but the club could become increasingly uneasy should their absences extend further.

Other injury notes:

  • According to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, the Los Angeles Kings are expected to welcome back defenseman Michael Anderson against the Utah Hockey Club tomorrow night. The six-year pro missed the last four games before the 4 Nations Face-Off because of a finger injury. Los Angeles still needs to activate Anderson from the injured reserve but his return will give the Kings a healthy lineup to start the final stretch of the regular season.
  • Despite playing in all four of Canada’s games for the 4 Nations Face-Off, captain Sidney Crosby may not be ready to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported earlier that Crosby will be a game-time decision for tomorrow afternoon’s action against the Washington Capitals. Yohe didn’t specify whether Crosby is dealing with a minor injury or needs another day of rest from the hotly-contested event. The future Hall of Famer finished his sixth championship-winning international event with one goal and four assists.

Quinn Hughes Not Cleared For 4 Nations Championship

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Feb. 19: Team USA has been informed that Hughes was not medically cleared to join the roster before Thursday, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. LeBrun shares that USA is looking into adding another defender to the lineup as an insurance option, given the illness circulating the 4-Nations tournament. Team USA would need to have less than six healthy defenseman to ice a player not currently on the roster.

Feb. 18: The United States may have reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes available for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship against Canada, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Tuesday (including Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic). He’s traveling to meet the team in Boston in the wake of an upper-body injury to Charlie McAvoy, but NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic that Hughes won’t be able to practice or play unless the Americans sustain another injury on defense ahead of the championship.

After being named as one of the first six players on the team last offseason, Hughes was on the Americans’ roster for the tournament up until last week, when he was ruled out after missing the Canucks’ final four games before the break with an oblique injury. Initially replaced by Jake Sanderson, he’s evidently now healthy and will be available if needed as the United States goes for its first best-on-best title since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Luckily for the United States, they’re unlikely to need any more injury replacements. Star sniper Auston Matthews is expected to play in the championship after serving as a late scratch in last night’s loss to Sweden because of upper-body soreness, Sullivan said (via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). He added both Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk will likely play after the former left Monday’s loss and the latter left Saturday’s win over Canada.

The Americans’ roster situation mirrors that of Canada’s after they lost defenseman Shea Theodore to an upper-body injury in their opening game against Sweden. Thomas Harley was allowed to fly out and meet the team but couldn’t practice or play unless they were unable to ice six defensemen. When Cale Makar was ruled out of their game against the U.S. due to illness, only then was Harley eligible to enter the lineup. He was not dressed when Makar returned to play yesterday against Finland.

At the very least, it’s a strong sign the Canucks will have their captain back when they return to play in Vegas on Saturday. The 25-year-old Hughes has improved further on last season’s elite two-way showing, bumping his points per game up to 1.26 from 1.12 and has posted career-highs in even-strength CF% (57.8) and relative CF% (+15.7).

There are three clear-cut Norris nominees in him, Makar, and Team USA teammate Zach Werenski. If Hughes takes home the hardware, he’d be the first back-to-back winner since the Red Wings’ Nicklas Lidström won three straight from 2006 to 2008.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Quinn Hughes Won’t Play In 4 Nations Face-Off, Jake Sanderson Named To Team USA

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A third and arguably best defenseman has bowed out of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. The Vancouver Canucks announced defenseman Quinn Hughes would miss the international tournament due to injury. Shortly after, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators would replace Hughes on Team USA’s roster.

Hughes’ departure from Team USA’s roster follows on the heels of Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Vegas Golden Knights’ defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Both blue-liners are dealing with injuries (the former recovering from knee surgery) and have already been replaced on Team Finland and Team Canada.

With all due respect to Heiskanen and Pietrangelo, the Canucks captain is the highest-profile name to be removed from the competition. He’s missed the last four games for Vancouver due to a hand injury and the team is prioritizing their playoff hopes over Hughes’ participation in the tournament.

Although Heiskanen may ultimately be more valuable to his team, that’s only a testament to Team USA’s defensive depth. Hughes, who won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s best defenseman only one year ago, has scored 31 goals and 151 points in his last 129 regular-season games. The native of Orlando, Florida, last represented Team USA at the 2019 IIHF World Championships. If he does not play for the United States’ World Championship team this upcoming summer, he’ll have to wait until the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan to compete again.

Replacing Hughes on the roster is Ottawa’s Sanderson, who last played for Team USA in the 2024 IIHF World Championships. The Whitefish, MT native is only two and a half years removed from debuting in the NHL scoring 19 goals and 105 points in 211 career games. Given the rest of the talent on Team USA’s blue line, Sanderson should represent the team’s seventh defenseman although he’ll likely play in a handful of games.

Afternoon Notes: Hughes, Pederson, Puljujarvi

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A busy day across the NHL has started with bad news in Vancouver. Vancouver Canucks superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t travel with the team for their Thursday matchup against the San Jose Sharks, per Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor. This will be Hughes’ third straight absence due to a lower-body injury. This is just a one-game road trip for Vancouver. Hughes was red hot prior to injury, with 14 points over his last 10 games and over 25 minutes of average ice time. Hughes’ absence was preceded by Vancouver’s acquisition of veteran defenseman Marcus Pettersson and rookie Victor Mancini. The Canucks still triumphed without their Norris Trophy favorite on Tuesday, beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-0. Pettersson and Tyler Myers each carried extra minutes in Hughes’ absence.

Despite coming off a win and setting up to face a last-place Sharks team, the Canucks are still going to sorely miss Hughes. He has been a force this season, currently sitting with 59 points in 47 games – a mark that leads both the Canucks and all NHL defensemen. He’s once again a favorite for the Norris Trophy, which he won last year, and an emerging candidate for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. Hughes has notably played through injury this year, including a hand injury at the turn of the year. He’s still tracking for a 100-point season despite that, and will be aiming to get quickly back to that pace once his lower-body injury subsides. Hughes is currently listed as out day-to-day.

Staying in Western Canada, the Edmonton Oilers will be without depth forward Lane Pederson for the remainder of the season after he underwent a successful shoulder surgery. Pederson managed an impressive 12 points in 18 AHL games before falling to injury. He’s been a hot scorer in the minors for a few years, netting 24 points in 18 games in 2022-23 and 52 points in 66 games last year. He was rewarded with 27 NHL games in 2022-23 – split between the Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets – but recorded a moot six points and 26 penalty minutes. Pederson will now focus on working his way back to full health in advance of next season’s training camps, where he’ll work to climb up an NHL call-up chart.

Jumping to the East coast, the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the minor leagues. The former top-10 pick has been a healthy scratch in three of Pittsburgh’s last four games. This will be his second stint in the minor leagues, after spending a brief, three-game trip with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in late January. Puljujarvi recorded three points and a minus-two in the appearances – far more production than he’s managed at the NHL level, where he only has nine points in 26 appearances. The routine trips to the minor leagues are the start of a poor pattern for Puljujarvi, who joined the Penguins partway through last season in an effort to maintain his NHL career. He’s struggled to do that up to this point, and will now be tasked with trying to find his groove once again with a productive stint in the minor leagues.

Canucks Notes: Miller, Trade Chatter, Hughes

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In today’s episode of ’32 Thoughts’ with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks and their recent trade activity were the center of attention. Friedman originally broke the news that the Canucks were trading forward J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers on Friday night, and Friedman provided even more context to the move.

Friedman reported that a players-only meeting happened during Vancouver’s early road trip to Florida in mid-October. This meeting addressed the rift between teammates Miller and Elias Pettersson. While the Sportsnet insider did not disclose which players led the discussion, the focus was on encouraging Miller and Pettersson to improve their relationship for the team’s betterment.

Ultimately, Miller’s relationship with Pettersson didn’t significantly improve, prompting him to take a month-long leave of absence. Friedman noted that when Miller returned in mid-November, the Vancouver organization had committed to trading him at some point this year.

The news from Friedman contradicts many of the reports surrounding Miller in December. In early December, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reported the Canucks had publicly asserted they wouldn’t be trading Miller, and that he wouldn’t be requesting a trade from Vancouver.

As things turned out, Miller was indeed on the chopping block, being sent to the Rangers for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick. Vancouver quickly moved the first-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins later that evening to acquire Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. Friedman believes that will be the only first-round pick the Canucks will trade this season.

After last night’s overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver is 23-18-11 through 52 games and is two points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Given their status as a bubble team at the moment, the Canucks’ first-round pick has a higher value than most prospective buyers as it could realistically become a lottery selection by the end of the year.

The Canucks are aware of this and have reportedly told interested teams they have no interest in moving their first-round pick unless they have a comfortable spot in the standings by the trade deadline. Vancouver traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Calgary Flames last season in the package for Elias Lindholm making it the first time since 2021 that they hadn’t made a first-round selection.

Vancouver’s position as a playoff contender may impact captain Quinn Hughes’ participation in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off starting next week. Hughes suffered a hand injury in the team’s recent game against the Dallas Stars, keeping him out of the lineup of last night’s contest. Friedman noted in his podcast that although no decision has been made, Vancouver could ask to withdraw from the tournament with Team USA to focus solely on getting healthy for their playoff run.

As arguably the team’s top defenseman, it would be a major blow to the American’s odds of winning the tournament. Still, Team USA has an easy choice for his replacement should he bow out in Washington Capitals’ blue liner, John Carlson.

Canucks Notes: Demko, Pettersson, Hughes, Joshua, Schneider

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Speaking with reporters following Friday’s loss to Nashville, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link) that goaltender Thatcher Demko, defenseman Quinn Hughes, and center Elias Pettersson will all travel on their upcoming five-game road trip.  Additionally, he’d be “shocked” if they didn’t suit up at some point over that stretch.  Those three are obviously three of Vancouver’s top players and getting them back would help their chances of snapping their current drought that has seen them lose six of their last eight games.  Their returns would also result in some players being sent down, opening up more cap space which is notable for a management team that’s known to prefer to strike early on the trade front.

More from Vancouver:

  • There might be another cause for concern on the injury front as well. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston notes that winger Dakota Joshua was banged up with a lower-body injury last night against Nashville and even though he returned to finish the game, he might not be fully healthy now as well.  Joshua has struggled this season since returning from his battle with testicular cancer and has been limited to just four points in 24 games although he sits second on the team with 83 hits.
  • In a separate piece from Johnston, he relays that Vancouver has been interested in Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere and defenseman Braden Schneider for quite some time. While Lafreniere isn’t likely to be moved having signed a long-term extension earlier this season, their interest in Schneider likely still stands, especially since he plays the type of role they tried to fill with Vincent Desharnais over the summer, a move that hasn’t worked out so far.  Of course, Schneider is only 23 and with New York struggling, he might not be the type of player they’re necessarily looking to move.

Morning Notes: Hughes, Pettersson, Murray, Skinner

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Exactly how much longer the Canucks will remain without stars Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson remains to be seen. The club certainly won’t have their services for this week’s intra-division road trip, though, head coach Rick Tocchet told Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.

Pettersson’s return is more imminent than Hughes’, Tocchet said. Pettersson hasn’t been ruled out for Friday’s home game against the Predators, but a return on Monday in Montreal seems more likely, with Tocchet saying Pettersson will likely miss another week. Hughes’ timeline is muddier. After missing Saturday’s overtime loss to the Kraken with an undisclosed injury, he’s been labeled week to week and could likely miss another five games at a minimum.

The latter’s absence is an especially tough one to swallow for the Canucks, who have won one out of their last five games and are already missing their No. 2 defenseman, Filip Hronek, for another few weeks. Hughes has easily been their most valuable player this season, leading the club in scoring with 42 points (8 G, 34 A) in 34 games and ranking second among NHL defensemen in points behind the Avalanche’s Cale Makar. He’s averaging 25:08 per game and posting better offensive and defensive possession metrics at even strength than last season’s Norris Trophy-winning campaign.

Hughes missing action wouldn’t be so awful if Vancouver had their second-best offensive producer this season. But they won’t have Pettersson, who has 10 goals and 28 points through 34 appearances, for the time being, either. Like Hughes, the 26-year-old has only missed one game with an undisclosed injury so far.

More from across the league this morning:

  • The Maple Leafs have continued to shuffle NHL backup options in the absence of emergent No. 1 Anthony Stolarz. Veteran Matt Murray has been returned to AHL Toronto with Dennis Hildeby coming up to take his place for the time being, the team announced. Murray, 30, has allowed seven goals on 58 shots faced in two starts this month while sitting behind Joseph Woll on the depth chart, his first NHL action since the end of the 2022-23 regular season. In a small sample size, that tracks as a career-worst .879 SV% and 3.54 GAA for the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Hildeby’s NHL numbers this season haven’t been any better with a .875 SV% in three starts, but he does have a .916 SV% in his last four minor-league contests. It’s unclear if this is a paper move to extend Murray’s waiver-exempt period or if the Leafs intend on rostering Hildeby for tomorrow’s matinee game against the Islanders.
  • Oilers winger Jeff Skinner sat in the press box while healthy for the first time in a while yesterday as Edmonton was upset 5-3 by the Ducks. It was a foreseeable result, writes Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. Skinner had no points and a -4 rating in his five most recent outings, and the 32-year-old has been an overall disappointment with only six goals and 12 points in 35 games after signing a one-year, $3MM pact with the Oilers following a buyout by the Sabres. He’s now averaging 12:58 per game on the year, the lowest usage of his 15-year NHL career, and his 48.6% shot-attempt share at 5-on-5 is also a career low.

Canucks Recall Three, Hughes And Pettersson Doubtful For Saturday

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The Vancouver Canucks made three recalls today, bringing forwards Phil Di Giuseppe and Max Sasson up to the big club from Abbotsford as well as defenseman Guillaume Brisebois. The moves were likely made as a precaution since it appears that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be able to play tomorrow night (as per Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army).

The 31-year-old Di Giuseppe is a veteran of 285 NHL games and has dressed in three NHL games this season for Vancouver, posting two assists. The nine-year veteran was in the AHL for just a handful of days and didn’t play during that time, earning his AHL salary of $500K rather than the $775K he earns at the NHL level. He played three times for Vancouver last week, including this past Monday night against San Jose.

Sasson has provided solid depth scoring this season, both in the NHL and AHL. With Vancouver this season, the 24-year-old has a goal and four helpers in 12 games, while in the AHL his offensive numbers are a shade better, posting four goals and five assists in 16 games. The Birmingham, Michigan native was undrafted out of the USHL and has carved out a solid but brief professional career thus far, reaching the NHL in his second full season of pro hockey.

Brisebois returns to Vancouver after having spent the entire season with Abbotsford. The 27-year-old dressed in 17 NHL games two seasons ago but has not seen NHL action since. It’s unlikely he will dress tomorrow night as the Canucks have seven healthy defensemen right now, and Brisebois will most likely serve as the seventh defender. Brisebois has just a single goal in 23 AHL games this season.

As far as the injuries to Pettersson and Hughes go, both players were being re-evaluated today by Canucks medical staff before the team makes a final judgement on their availability tomorrow.

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