Vancouver Canucks: 3 takeaways from shootout loss to New Jersey Devils

Tanev is injured… again

The Canucks as a team have once again struggled to stay healthy this year. Once again, Chris Tanev has had a frustrating season struggling with injuries. Tanev has missed nearly 20 games this season, and after playing in just 42 games last season, you have to wonder if his health is going to be a recurring problem for the rest of his career.

It’s frustrating for Tanev, who last night, was playing in just his second game since returning from his most recent injury that caused him to miss a long stretch of games.

After blocking a shot that caught him in the foot, Tanev went straight to the Canucks dressing room. Shortly thereafter, Tanev came back to the Canucks bench and during a television timeout, took a twirl on his injured foot to see if he could play through it. He couldn’t. A frustrated Tanev headed back down the tunnel to the Canucks dressing room and did not return for the rest of the night.

After the game, coach Green confirmed in his postgame press conference that Tanev will miss the remainder of the season. That’s incredibly frustrating for Tanev and for the team — and the question needs to be asked, is Tanev really worth keeping around on the top pairing for the coming seasons if he’s going to continue to struggle with injuries?

It’s going to be interesting to see who the Canucks play in the absence of Tanev. With Ben Hutton still sidelined with his injury, Josh Teves — who took a midterm yesterday — will likely make his NHL debut in one of the next coming games. Quinn Hughes will also likely make his debut fairly shortly, but losing Tanev leaves a major hole on the right side for the Canucks.

The Canucks will get back at it tomorrow as they embark on game one of their two-game road trip when they take on the Dallas Stars in Texas. Puck drop is at 4 PM.