Canucks’ Quinn Hughes remains sidelined Saturday vs. Maple Leafs

Credit: Apr 23, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates in warm up prior to game two of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes will miss his fourth-straight contest Saturday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs due to a lower-body ailment, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed to TSN’s Mark Masters.

Tocchet added that Hughes’ extended absence has created an urgency of whether the blue-liner will suit up for the American squad at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off to be held February 12-20 in Boston and Montreal.

“The dialogue has got to ramp,” Tocchet told Masters. “We have got to figure this out because [the United States] is going to have to name a [replacement] if he doesn’t play. It’s not like we have a few days. It’s hours before the decision is going to be made.”

Sidelined since late January, Hughes has made 47 appearances with Vancouver this season in which he has collected 14 goals and 45 assists for a team-leading 59 points, a 25-point lead on second-place Brock Boeser. The reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s Defenseman of the Year, Hughes has continued the offensive dominance he showed a year ago when he wrapped up the 2023-24 campaign with 92 points counting 17 goals and 75 assists coming in 82 outings.

Originally chosen seventh overall by Vancouver in the 2018 NHL Draft, the 25-year-old Orlando, Fla., native has spent part of seven seasons with the Canucks in which he has totaled 57 goals and 335 assists for 392 points through 412 career contests.

The Canucks enter Saturday’s showdown against the Maple Leafs on a two-game win streak that has powered the club to the second wildcard seed in the Western Conference with a 25-18-11 record and 61 points, a two-point lead on the Pacific Division rival Calgary Flames. Saturday’s contest also closes out the season series between the Canucks and Maple Leafs following a mid-January game in which Vancouver came away with a 3-0 victory where Hughes finished with one goal and one assist.