VANCOUVER -- Carson Soucy will miss 5-6 weeks after the Vancouver Canucks defenseman blocked a shot with his hand during a 6-4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
The 29-year-old, who was unavailable for the third period Saturday, missed almost seven weeks after taking a shot off his left foot in a game at the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 12. He didn’t return until Jan. 6.
“That's a tough break for him, and he just can't get a break,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said of Soucy, who also missed the first two games of the regular season recovering from a leg injury sustained in a preseason game. “But that's the time frame.”
Soucy has six points (two goals, four assists) and is plus-6 in 21 games while averaging 17:25 of ice time in his first season with the Canucks after signing a three-year, $9.75 million contract ($3.25 million average annual value) with Vancouver on July 1. He’s played mostly on the third defense pair but also plays a significant role on a penalty kill that had only given up three goals on 25 chances (88 percent) since his return Jan. 6, which coincided with the Canucks’ eight-game point streak (7-0-1).
Without Soucy, defenseman Noah Juulsen returned to the lineup for a 2-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday after being a healthy scratch for the previous five games and six of seven. He had an assist in 15:51 of ice time.
Juulsen was minus-6 in his first nine games of the season, but improved during Soucy’s previous absence playing with veteran Ian Cole. Juulsen has three assists and an even rating in 30 games.
“That's why it's so important to have [defensive] depth,” Tocchet said. “He was out when really he could have still been playing. What I love about him is he's ready to go. He works hard in practice. That's why it's important that you have character guys like that. He's played well, so I'm not concerned about Noah.”
Juulsen returned alongside Cole, a left-shot defenseman playing the right side the previous five games, and Tocchet indicated he might break up his top pair of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek at times without Soucy, with Tyler Myers an option to play with Hughes and Hronek dropping down with Nikita Zadorov.
“We'll have a couple of different matchups or different pairs at certain parts of the game, almost like a committee,” Tocchet said.
