Canucks HC Rick Tocchet equates Quinn Hughes' void to Connor McDavid's hypothetical absence from Oilers squad

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet stressed how important Quinn Hughes is to his team. He compared Hughes' absence to that of Connor McDavid for the Edmonton Oilers. Speaking on NHL on TNT on Wednesday, Tocchet spoke about how creating scoring opportunities was difficult without Hughes.

Tocchet also pointed out Hughes' ability to drive play and make a difference, while comparing him to elite players like McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.

"I think obviously we miss him. And we've lost our last couple games without him. We were actually pretty hanging in there with about without him for a bit. But we need him. I mean, he's like, Edmonton, losing McDavid. It's like MacKinnon, Colorado. He's our MacKinnon and McDavid, like he's a guy that just drives play for us," Tocchet said.

The Canucks struggled without Hughes in their last few games. Tocchet called Quinn Hughes a dedicated leader and a "hockey nerd" eager to return.

"He's a hell of a captain, a hell of a kid, and it's killing him not to play. This guy's a hockey nerd," Tocchet added.

Hughes finally played on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. He was first listed as out but took part in a morning skate. He stayed on the ice after warmups and later joined the lineup. Vancouver dressed seven defensemen for the game.

Quinn Hughes' return came at a crucial time for Vancouver. He leads all NHL defensemen with 45 assists and tops the Canucks' scoring list with 59 points.

Brady Tkachuk commented on Quinn Hughes' denied participation in the 4 Nations

Last week, Before the final against Team Canada, Charlie McAvoy got injured, leading to rumors that Hughes might join the team.

Quinn Hughes was expected to play for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off but did not participate. The Vancouver Canucks did not clear him to play because he was recovering from an injury at the time. Hughes had already missed four games for the Canucks, and they did not want to hamper his recovery.

Brady Tkachuk shared his thoughts on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. He alleged that the Canucks were favoring Team Canada.

"I actually Facetimed kind of like Quinn when he was figuring it out—when people were saying, 'Quinn might come, Quinn might not come'," Tkachuk said. "I think he was all about coming, but I just don’t think he got cleared by Vancouver to play. Yeah, a little shady business to begin with there. We all know who they were cheering for."

Since the tournament allowed replacements only if a team lacked six defensemen or twelve forwards, Team USA could not add anyone.