"We had about 90 seconds left to get the lineup in": Canucks HC gives an insight into last minute decision of Quinn Hughes' playing status

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet explained his last-minute decision about playing Quinn Hughes against the LA Kings. Hughes returned after missing six games due to an undisclosed injury.

In the post-game press conference, Tocchet said Hughes was expected to play 16 to 17 minutes. However, Hughes convinced him in the medical room that he was ready. Tocchet was unsure about Hughes’ exact ice time but said he looked comfortable.

"It was like 11 minutes and Hughes called me in the medical room, and we had a little bit of a talk, and he kind of persuaded me. I, you know, it was, it was one of those things that I don't know what he played tonight, but the original thought was 16 to 17 minutes. I don’t know what it is exactly. I think he felt pretty good out there," Tocchet said.

Tocchet added that doctors helped decide Hughes could play.

"And, you know, I think he's pretty good right now. So, you know, that's the one thing that you know he wanted to, you know, he wanted to play, you know, and we felt that he was safe enough after talking to the doctors," he added.

The late decision impacted other players, including Arshdeep Bains, who was informed just eight minutes before the game that he wouldn’t play. Tocchet added that they had only 90 seconds to finalize the roster.

"It was about the eight minute mark, and we had to tell Bains he was not playing. So yeah, but that's probably the longest I've ever gone without making a lineup change. I think we had about 90 seconds left to get the lineup in," he said.

Despite the late change, Quinn Hughes' return helped the Canucks win 3-2 in overtime against the Los Angeles Kings. He joined the morning skate and stayed after warmups before playing. He leads all NHL defensemen with 45 assists and 59 points. The Canucks dressed seven defensemen to manage his minutes.

Vancouver had a two-goal lead before the Kings tied the game. Conor Garland scored in overtime to secure the win. The Canucks improved to 27-20-11, while the Kings extended their point streak to seven games.

Rick Tocchet compares Quinn Hughes to Connor McDavid

Rick Tocchet said Quinn Hughes is very important to the Canucks. He compared losing Hughes to Edmonton losing Connor McDavid. On Wednesday, Tocchet told NHL on TNT that Quinn Hughes helps create scoring chances and drives play like McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.

"I think obviously we miss 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.

Tocchet also called Hughes a great leader and a “hockey nerd." The Vancouver Canucks will next play against the Anaheim Ducks at 10:00 PM EST on February 27.