The Vancouver Canucks have already got their fair share of troubles ahead of training camp. Consider that they will be without Thatcher Demko and Dakota Joshua, when camp begins in Penticton on Thursday.
Thatcher we've known about for a while, with him potentially set to miss the beginning of the 2024-25 regular season due to a knee injury which cannot be resolved by surgery. As for Joshua, a shocking announcement came on Tuesday from the Canucks, that he has had to undergo surgery for a cancerous lump on his testicle.
Well, now the list of absentees has grown for the beginning of Cancuks training camp. More specifically, as per Thomas Drance of The Athletic, Teddy Blueger and Cole McWard will also now be unavailable on Thursday.
The news was confirmed by Cancucks general manager Patrik Allvin, with both undergoing minor lower body surgery. Blueger's absence is listed as day-to-day, while McWard's is listed as week-to-week.
Blueger the more important player
Of the two, Blueger is the more important player, so the Canucks and their fans will be thankful he is only day-to-day as a result of his surgery. He was a success during his first season in Vancouver, as he proved his worth in the bottom-six.
Among other things, the 30-year-old set a new personal best with 22 assists and tied his career high of 28 overall points, while averaging 14:56 of ice time in 68 games. As a result, he deservedly received a new two-year deal from the Canucks, with an Average Annual Value of $1.8 million.
As for McMard, he has so far been limited to six appearances at the NHL level, with one goal to his name. With the blue liner being listed as week-to-week after his surgery, he is going to miss out on valuable opportunities to prove his worth to the Canucks.
One final note of worth from Drance, is Allvin's comment that Demko will address his injury on Thursday. It feels like there is still so much uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding his status, and the hope is he can provide some sort of clarity about the situation when he speaks to the media. (Although we wouldn't necessarily count on it.)