Canuck rookies see action as blue-line injuries mount

Canucks defenceman Travis Hamonic is headed to the injured reserve list, while the status of Alex Edler remains up in the air.

The two veteran blue-liners were injured during Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Rogers Arena.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning said before Thursday's rematch between the teams that Hamonic was dealing with an “upper-body” injury. The Canucks described Edler's injury during Wednesday's game in similar terms; Benning said he had yet to receive an update on Edler.

Both Hamonic and Edler met with doctors on Thursday.

How Edler was hurt isn't clear, but he has had back and muscle troubles in the past, so it's possible he's having a CT scan. TSN 1040's Rick Dhaliwal said Hamonic was going for an MRI scan, which is often used to determine the extent of injuries to muscles, ligaments and tendons as well as bone-related injuries.

After Hamonic was put on IR, the team recalled Brogan Rafferty from the taxi squad. With Jordie Benn still not ready to play, Rafferty went right into the lineup, playing his first NHL game since the end of the 2018-19 season. (Rafferty's salary-cap hit, by the way, is currently not being counted toward the Canucks' cap as the injuries to Edler and Hamonic mean they have fewer than six healthy defencemen.) And in Edler's spot, 2016 first-round pick Olli Juolevi drew back in.

Before the game, Canucks head coach Travis Green was noncommittal about his roster deployment, though the tea leaves suggested that at least Rafferty was going to draw in. With Jalen Chatfield dressing again after making his NHL debut on Wednesday, the Canucks were dressing three rookie blue-liners against the Canadiens.

“We're going to be excited for any new players that might come into the lineup, much like we were with Chatfield. ... I thought he was outstanding and if we have more young D coming in ... we're confident they can do the same thing and get the job done,” Green said.

COVID-19 CHANGES EASE ROSTER MANAGEMENT

Benning did say that the changes to roster rules brought in this season to help manage through the realities of COVID -19 quarantines have made life easier.

Teams are being allowed to keep a taxi squad of six players on hand, beyond the usual NHL roster of 23, because the quarantine rules in effect in many jurisdictions across North America would make the normal minor-league call-up process unworkable.

“In a normal season, say we had two defencemen go down, we're getting guys moving right away,” he said. “(This year) it's actually easier for us because we do have the taxi squad, we do have the players right here. It's not like they're getting on the plane, they're here already.”

Benning also noted that the NHL has changed the deadline for daily roster moves to 5 p.m. local time. In the past, the deadline was 5 p.m. ET, which meant the Canucks were having to make roster decisions at 2 p.m. local time, often before they had a full medical picture of the situation.

They can understand their situation better now, Benning said.

“(Wednesday) night we digested things after the game, then we talked (Thursday) morning,” he said. “And we should know what their status is before we have to make a call. It puts a lot less pressure on our doctors and trainers. Now we can get the test results, the diagnosis. You're not making decisions on guessing, now you can get them to the doctor and get the results.

“Those two things make it easier.”

And the reality is, injuries are going to happen, Benning acknowledged. He and his staff have to be ready to manage their roster.