What began as a seemingly positive Monday in respect of Brock Boeser's injury, was soon beset by confusion. One minute the situation seemed encouraging, the next, not so much.
The confusion started, after Sportnet's play-by-play voice Brendan Batchelor shared an update on social media to advise that Boeser was only expected to miss the next few days. This was in stark contrast to a day earlier, when it was reported by Kevin Woodley of NHL.com, that he was out indefinitely.
This understandably had fans excited, and attempting to project when Boeser would actually next play. The thinking was he would miss Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames, possibly returning Thursday versus the New York Islanders, but worst-case being back on Saturday to face the Chicago Blackhawks.
Not so fast on the pending return
As it turned out though, there was a misunderstanding on the part of Batchelor, with there not actually being an update about the status of Boeser. Fair play to the Canucks play-by-play voice though, he deleted his original post and provided clarification:
Mea culpa from me on this one as well. Tocchet is asked about providing an update to Boeser’s status and calls it a “day to day” thing. He ultimately said he didn’t have an update on Boeser. https://t.co/hCBqc0vtTi
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 12, 2024
So how did this confusion occur in the first place? As per the team's official X account, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said:
""I don't (have an update on Boeser)... It's day-to-day. I haven't really talked to him today to be honest with you. These things, it's a day-to-day thing (if) you feel better. I don't know.""
The confusion occurred, because after Tocchet initially said he had no update on Boeser, there was a followup question asking if he would ever give an update on the winger. The Canucks coach's comment about it being day-to-day, was referring to the status of any potential update, as opposed to the timeline for an actual return by the player.
No rushing Boeser back
It makes total sense for Tocchet and the Canucks to be taking such a cautious approach, when it comes to the two-time NHL All-Star. It's always best to take things slowly and surely, when you're dealing with a head issue of any kind.
Boeser was the victim of a cheap hit to the head from Tanner Jeannot, during last Thursday's road contest against the Los Angeles Kings. Jeannot was subsequently suspended for three games by the NHL.
The timing was bad -- is it ever good though, to be fair -- with the 27-year-old leading the Canucks with six goals. Last season saw him pace the Canucks with a career-high 40 goals.
Boeser was already dealing with a health situation prior to the hit to his head, with him still not entirely in the clear regarding a blood clot issue. Theis problem arose during last season's playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, and the Canucks are taking certain precautions and monitoring his progress, likely for the duration of the 2024-25 campaign.
The Canucks will understandably not rush Boeser back, due to the delicate nature of having a head issue. At the same time they will hope he's back sooner than later to help the forward lines, with J.T. Miller seemingly playing through an unsubstantiated injury, and Elias Pettersson struggling to find his usual productive form.