Canucks' loss to Stars an afterthought due to Miller trade, Hughes injury

The Vancouver Canucks have had so much practice surviving things this season that they have a chance to survive the J.T. Miller trade, too.

But they can not survive the loss of superstar defenceman Quinn Hughes, which is why his obvious physical discomfort Friday in Dallas has the potential short-term to trump in impact even the blockbuster trade of Miller.

Hughes, the Canucks captain and holder of the Norris Trophy, finished the 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars and was able to walk out into the hallway post game to do an interview with Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy.

But the dynamo missed six minutes early in the third period, went to the Canucks dressing room, then laboured through three shifts in the final 10 minutes without the usual explosiveness and edgework in his skating. On the ice and at the Canucks’ bench, Hughes appeared to be in significant pain.

“Yeah, we'll see,” Hughes said when asked about his condition. “I have 48 hours to figure it out, so we'll see how that goes.”

The Canucks have ice time scheduled in Dallas for Saturday morning before they fly home to face the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Arena at 5 p.m. PT on Sunday.

The Canucks could have a handful of new players in their lineup.

Centre Filip Chytil and defence prospect Victor Mancini were acquired from the New York Rangers in the pre-game trade of Miller. And late Friday night, Canuck general manager Patrik Allvin packaged the conditional first-round pick Vancouver received from New York to acquire top-four defenceman Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

To make the money work, Allvin also sent winger Danton Heinen and defenceman Vincent Desharnais to Pittsburgh, while taking back Penguins depth winger Drew O’Connor. Both Pettersson and O’Connor are eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season.

Hughes missed the first four games after Christmas with a hand injury, but since then has performed at a world-class level even with a heavy brace on his hand. But his lower-body problem on Friday appeared to be unconnected to his earlier injury.

The 25-year-old leads all NHL defencemen in scoring with 59 points in 47 games and is expected to be a key player for Team USA at the Four Nations tournament in February.

If he’s healthy, at least Hughes will be reunited with Miller.

“Obviously, a lot of noise the last couple weeks and months,” Hughes said of the drama surrounding the team and especially the strained relationship between Miller and Elias Pettersson. “But, you know, to see him go, he's a heckuva hockey player, and I enjoyed playing with him for the six years that I had. Right now, it doesn't even really seem real. But the next couple weeks, I'm sure it will sink in a little bit.

“For everyone in the organization, I think it's just been a lot of noise. And for Millsy, too, it's been a lot on him. I think he's looking forward to, you know, a fresh start. But we're obviously going to miss him here. He had a lot of competing (and) played some really good hockey for us. But in saying that now, we've got to refocus on the guys that we do have here.”

Elias Pettersson told reporters in Dallas post-game that losing Miller was “a big blow.”

Asked by Murphy about moving on from his relationship with Miller, Pettersson said: “I don't want to get into that. I mean, all we can do is look forward. I don’t know what to say. All we can do is look forward.”

Between Miller’s trade and Hughes’ injury, the Canucks’ game felt like an afterthought. 

The team actually played well. They outshot the Stars 29-16 but lost partly on special teams. Dallas went 1-for-2 on the power play while the Canucks were 1-for-5, but didn’t generate their goal by Jake DeBrusk until the score was 4-1 and there was only 2:09 remaining.

Carson Soucy and Conor Garland, on a beautiful setup by Nils Hoglander, had the other Vancouver goals. Struggling Canuck goalie Thatcher Demko got his second straight start and allowed three goals on 14 shots. 

Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz each scored twice for the Stars, who scored twice into empty nets.

Canuck coach Rick Tocchet said he liked how his team played. But the post-game focus was on Miller.

“Anything like that happens, it's always tough, especially Millsy,” veteran defenceman Tyler Myers said. “He has been such a big part of the room. You know, it's always a weird feeling. I know he's emotional. He's been such a big part of the city (and) team. In a lot of ways, I'm happy for him for a fresh start.”

Myers said Miller held more “weight” in the Canucks room, among teammates, than anyone else Myers has played with during his 16-year NHL career.

Even Tocchet seemed emotional post game when asked about Miller, whom he described as a “heart-and-soul” player.

“It's a business, you know, the way it is,” he said. “When you're in this business long enough, there's going to be things like that. I thought the guys handled it well. Millsy was a big part of the team. I'm sure he's emotional and stuff. Like, it was a kind of emotional thing. But, you know, it's a business, right? Things happen.”

Asked about Elias Pettersson getting a fresh start, Tocchet said: “Obviously, you know, we need him to play. I mean, we need him to come up with some big moments for us. He knows that he's an important part of our team, and he's got to get going.”