Canucks captain Quinn Hughes to miss game vs. Ducks with lower-body injury

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes takes a shot against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Rio Giancarlo)

VANCOUVER — Canucks captain Quinn Hughes will not play Wednesday when Vancouver hosts the Anaheim Ducks.

Hughes will get treatment for a lower-body injury and be reassessed on Thursday, said head coach Rick Tocchet.

He added that the ailment is not the same issue — reported to be an oblique injury — that kept the 25-year-old star defenceman out of six NHL games and forced him to pull out of the United States team at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

The second injury may have been caused in part from Hughes' body overcompensating for the first, Tocchet said.

“When you’re dealing with something, something else kind of gets affected,” he said. ”It’s a lot of different things — how tight you are, and all that sort of stuff.”

Hughes returned to Vancouver’s lineup on Feb. 26, but was hurt again in Vancouver’s 6-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

He had one assist across three contests in his return.

“Eighty per cent Quinn we’ll take on our team right now. But we’ve also got to be careful because he wasn’t himself the last couple of games,” Tocchet said.

“We have to make sure that we give him a chance that when he’s on the ice, he can do all elements of his game.”

The coach said he doesn’t expect Hughes to return to 100 per cent health this season.

“But I could say that about other guys around the league. You know, it’s hard to be 100 per cent at this time of the year,” Tocchet said.

Hughes is the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenceman and leads the Canucks (27-22-11) in scoring with 14 goals and 46 assists in 50 games this season.

The blue-chip blue liner is a motivated player who wants to help Vancouver secure a playoff spot, Tocchet said.

“He’s tough to put a muzzle on. He just wants to go,” he said. ”So when he does come back, we’re gonna have to really (be sure).

“We need him to play for us. But a healthy Quinn — we can’t have him short-handed out there.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published March 5, 2025.