Looking good on the injury front with Brock Boeser

We appreciate that all 32 teams have to deal with absences for a variety of reasons, during the course of an average NHL campaign. However, it sure seems as if the Vancouver Canucks are dealing with more than most at the moment, especially considering they're not even a quarter of the way through their regular season schedule yet.

J.T. Miller is the latest such casualty, with him taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons on Tuesday. He joins the likes of Thatcher Demko and Derek Forbort, who are both currently dealing with injury issues, with Demko's going all the way back to late last season.

Another player who's dealing with an injury is Brock Boeser, who has been out of action since being the unfortunate recipient of a cheap hit to the head from the Los Angeles Kings' Tanner Jeannot. On Wednesday however, there was an encouraging update in respect of the Canucks winger.

Boeser to travel to Ottawa with the team?

The Canucks are set to travel out East to the nation's capital in Ottawa on Friday, for the beginning of a season-long six-game road trip. (They'll also play six consecutive games on the road in the new year, towards the end of the 2024-25 campaign.) And it sure sounds as if there's an excellent chance Broeser will be joining the team on their travels.

The encouraging update came courtesy of Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, while speaking to the media on Wednesday. As per the team on social media, he said:

"I think (Brock's) coming on the trip. I haven't talked to the medical staff yet. We have a meeting after this (media session), to decide if he's going. But whether he stays back to skate or not, we still have to talk about that because we have (Jason Krog) our skills coach. If he doesn't play on this trip obviously he won't come, but we'll see how it goes day-to-day."

Now yes, Tocchet didn't outright confirm 100 percent that Boeser will be joining the team on their road trip. However, it's interesting that he initially sounded quite sure about it, before seeming to check himself just in case.

A cautious approach is the order of the day

Of course if there is any doubt about the two-time NHL All-Star's health and fitness, it's better to be safe than sorry. There's no point in attempting to rush the player back and then risk him suffering a setback, especially with so much of the season still to play.

At the same time, there's no denying how important Boeser is to the team, and not just because of Miller's current absence for an undetermined amount of time. It's telling that despite missing six of the Canucks' 18 games so far in 2024-25, that Boeser is still tied for the team lead with six goals. (He has 11 points in total.)

The 2015 first round draft pick last season led the team with a career-high 40 goals, and looked primed to repeat this trick prior to his nasty head injury against the Kings. There's also the additional motivation of this being a contract year for him, with him aiming to secure a long-term and lucrative extension to remain in Vancouver.

The Cancks are doing decently enough in respect of their 9-6-3 record, but the reality is they're not yet firing on all cylinders or matching last season's form. The return of Boeser would undoubtedly help in this respect, with fans hoping he does indeed return to action at some point during the upcoming road trip.

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