Typically an iron man, Canucks’ Hughes grateful to be back amid playoff push

VANCOUVER — Given his repertoire of superpowers, Quinn Hughes doesn’t get enough credit for his exceptional durability.

A five-foot-10 defenceman who has been targeted by the opposition almost since he set foot in the National Hockey League, Hughes missed only 11 games in his first five seasons.

Until this year, the worst injury he’s had as a pro was probably the one he arrived with in Vancouver — a sprained ankle he brought from the University of Michigan that briefly delayed his cameo appearances for the Canucks at the end of the 2018-19 campaign when Hughes was 19.

Hughes was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy the next season, and played all 82 games last year, plus 13 more in the playoffs, when he won the Norris Trophy.

But even Hughes has not been immune from the plot twists and unexpected hardship of the Canucks’ winter.

The 25-year-old captain is attempting to return this week from his third injury in a little more than two months.

None of the setbacks has been season-threatening, and Hughes appreciates this in the context of the shoulder surgery that ended younger brother Jack’s season with the New Jersey Devils.

But since Christmas, Quinn has missed 14 games, more than he had the previous five and a half years. And with the Canucks in a frantic playoff push to save their season, Hughes’ absence has probably cost Vancouver at least a couple of wins.

“Really disappointing,” Hughes told reporters on Friday after practising with the team at the University of B.C. “Obviously, I felt like my game was in a really good spot. I missed four games (after Christmas), and then missed 4 Nations, and then ran into some complications. It wasn’t the way I saw it going. But also, you know, as far as injuries go, (they are) minor. You look at my brother and his season’s over. So for me, I’m lucky that I’m able to come back and play.”

In his latest return Wednesday in Calgary, Hughes logged 29:48 of ice time and set up a power-play goal as the Canucks rallied to beat the Flames 4-3 in a shootout to keep their wild-card playoff chances realistic.

The Chicago Blackhawks visit Vancouver on Saturday, before the Canucks complete their fourth set of back-to-back games in three weeks Sunday against Utah, another of the four teams fighting over the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Hughes missed the first four games after Christmas with a hand injury, six games before the February schedule break due to a strained oblique muscle and the four-game homestand that ended Tuesday after falling awkwardly in Seattle on March 1.

“I think just with the (oblique) injury I had, I try to come back and then other things were not as strong because I was overworking different muscles from the previous injury,” Hughes explained. “I haven’t really had an injury like that before, where it just felt like a little bit of a domino effect. But we have a great group of trainers here to be able to get healthy and ready to go.

“I feel like I’ve missed time and I need to — we only have 17 games left (and) probably need 10 or 11 wins — find my best and try to help our team win games.”

The Canucks are 6-6-2 without Hughes, scoring only 29 goals and losing three times by one goal.

Not only was he the favourite in the season’s first half to win another Norris Trophy, but Hughes would have been a Hart Trophy candidate, too, had he stayed healthy.

There are only a handful of NHL players capable of dominating possession like Hughes does, so his return — and durability the rest of the way — are imperative to the Canucks.

Coach Rick Tocchet said last week he’d take Hughes at 80 per cent. But is he even that healthy?

“That’s a good question,” Tocchet said Friday. “I don’t know. The way he’s been talking lately, he seems more (than 80 per cent). But listen, I don’t think he’s ever going to be feeling 100 per cent. And like I told you guys, this time of year… I’m sure other players and other teams have the same thing. What I’m amazed at, he hasn’t really had… a full team practice in a month. Maybe one. And to be able to do what he does, that’s hard to do.”

Hughes was cross-checked by Ryan Lomberg in Calgary and took a big hit from Martin Pospisil. All the opposing sharks will smell blood in the water when Hughes is on the ice.

The Canucks are one of the league’s most physical teams, but they don’t have any one player tough or feared enough to back down opponents.

“It’s today’s game,” Tocchet said. “Do I want him to take the hits? No. I mean, he’s got to be careful. But you could be team tough (like) a pack of wolves, I call it. Be hard on their best players; that’s another thing. We don’t want him taking hits or getting taken advantage of. Absolutely not, 100 per cent. It’s something that we’ll have to address, too, down the road.”

Hughes may need greater protection eventually, but also has not shown himself to be easily intimidated or put off his game. He is an elusive guy to hit.

“I don’t think anyone was being, you know, stupid by rushing back,” he said of his return. “I felt pretty good the first time I came back. Just kind of a weird play (in Seattle), and then… I felt the same thing that I was dealing with before. And I think that’s just kind of an unlucky, freaky thing.

“Like you said, through my career, I’ve been pretty fortunate that I haven’t dealt with anything. Sometimes it’s going to go the other way. You know, I could get injured the next game. It’s just a reality. So can anyone. But as of right now, I feel pretty good.”

ICE CHIPS – Rookie defenceman Elias Pettersson fully practised Friday after missing the final 45 minutes in Calgary following an elbow to the head by Connor Zary, who was suspended Thursday for two games. Tocchet said Pettersson is “full go” to play Saturday. The coach described the return of Tyler Myers as “probable” after Vancouver’s senior defenceman missed the Calgary game… Goalie Thatcher Demko, who like Hughes is on his third injury this season, did a few drills at the end of Friday’s session and Tocchet hopes he may fully practise next week. Demko hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury on Feb. 8… Workhorse defenceman Filip Hronek and “banged-up” winger Conor Garland were given Friday off.

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