Canucks’ Quinn Hughes out week-to-week, Pettersson expected to return in a week

An update on two of the Vancouver Canucks’ top players, though maybe not the most positive.

When speaking to the media on Sunday, head coach Rick Tocchet revealed that neither forward Elias Pettersson nor captain Quinn Hughes will be joining the team on its upcoming road trip. He said that Hughes is “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury, while Pettersson is expected to return to the lineup in a week.

Both players were noticeably out of the lineup when the Canucks took on the Seattle Kraken. They will miss the road trip, which will see Vancouver visit the Calgary Flames on New Year’s Eve, before visiting the Kraken on Thursday.

Pettersson was hurt during the Canucks’ last game prior to the break. In a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks, he was reportedly banged up in the second period before leaving the game entirely after just one shift in the third. Tocchet said after the win, “I don’t think it’s too bad.”

It hasn’t been reported what exactly Hughes hurt that could cause him to miss an extended period of time. The 25-year-old was a game-time decision for the game against the Sharks with an undisclosed injury. He registered 24:45 of ice time in the victory, recording two assists in the win.

Both players have been fairly healthy over the past couple of seasons. Each has appeared in all 34 of Vancouver’s games this season, with both playing the full 82-game schedule during the 2023-24 campaign, including each of the team’s 13 games in its run to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pettersson played 80 games in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, while Hughes missed four games two years ago, playing 76 games the season before that.

So far, Hughes leads the Canucks with 42 points, scoring eight goals and 34 assists. He ranks second in the NHL in scoring among defensemen, only trailing Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar. Pettersson is second on the Vancouver roster behind Hughes with 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points.

The Canucks (17-10-8) hold the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and are fourth in the Pacific Division, nine points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights.