Quinn Hughes and his brother, Jack, tested positive after attending All-Star festivities in Las Vegas over the weekend.
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It happened in Vegas. Felt in Vancouver.
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Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, the catalyst for kick-starting the offense with his sublime skating and laser passing, has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending All-Star festivities in Las Vegas over the weekend, confirmed the club.
His brother, Jack, who had a goal and an assist on Saturday to help propel the Metropolitan Division to a 5-3 victory over the Central Division in the event final after scoring twice in the semifinal, also gave positive.
Therefore, any interaction between the siblings could have been the likely trigger point for showing obvious symptoms or simply testing positive.
Quinn Hughes must remain in the US under NHL protocol quarantine guidelines and would be available for the Canucks at their Feb. 17 game in San Jose.
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Last week, the NHL and NHL Players’ Associate agreed to stop testing asymptomatic players on a daily basis, except to cross the US border. That required Hughes to be tested.
Losing Hughes is a crushing blow for the Canucks, especially with three home dates this week. He is second in team scoring with 34 points (2-32) in 45 games and is the power play quarterback where he has 17 assists.
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Hughes also ranks ninth among all NHL defenders in scoring and is 12th in average ice time at 25:13. The rest of the Canucks defensive corps has only put up 41 points from 10 players, with Tyler Myers topping that list with 11 points.
Jack Rathbone may be a roster retirement option for the American Hockey League affiliate in Abbotsford. The only Canucks who have not tested positive this season for COVID-19 are Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nils Hollander and rookie Vasily Podkolzin.
More to come…
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