Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Brock Boeser was off the ice again Wednesday, and Adam Foote suddenly has a real Canucks issue with Boeser, Filip Hronek and Evander Kane all missing.
That’s the kind of practice note that lands harder than it should for a team already sitting at 21-41-8.
On its own, one veteran taking a maintenance day is nothing.
Three key names out together is different, especially when one drives the blue line, one finishes around the net, and one brings edge to the top nine.
Hronek is the one that should make Foote sweat first.
Just five days earlier, Paterson reported Hronek missed practice because of workload, not a lineup threat, which makes a second absence in this stretch stand out more.
Boeser has already had a stop-and-start stretch.
On February 21, he was the only skater missing because of illness, with Foote saying the hope was to get him back with the group on Monday.
Kane adds another layer because he just missed a March 10 game against Ottawa with an upper-body injury before getting back on Elias Pettersson’s wing the next day.
That makes another absence hard to brush off.
Why this hits Vancouver harder right now
The Canucks don’t have much margin left on the roster. Foote said on March 20 that with only two spare skaters, he did not have much leeway to make significant changes.
That matters because Hronek is not just another defenseman in this setup.
He has carried a heavy workload all season, and Vancouver has already been forced to manage his practice time.
It matters up front too. Boeser remains tied for the team lead with 17 goals, while Hronek leads the club with 33 assists.
Pull both out of the mix at the same practice and you’re talking about a lot of lost offence and puck movement.
Then there’s Kane. He hasn’t just been a depth add.
He has been used beside Pettersson, and when he is unavailable, Vancouver loses some pushback and net-front bite.
Foote has already called out his group’s second-period habits, pointing to a -37 goal differential in second periods.
Missing veterans who can settle shifts and win battles only puts that weakness under a brighter light.
Maybe Wednesday turns out to be maintenance, illness, and caution rolled into one.
But when Boeser, Hronek, and Kane are all absent together, it’s fair to call it concerning, because this roster doesn’t have enough proven pieces to shrug that off.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
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Injury scare rocks Canucks as Boeser, Hronek and Kane concerns grow
Should Canucks fans be worried about Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek and Evander Kane all missing practice ?