The Vancouver Canucks’ most experienced defenceman is apparently ailing.
Alex Edler left the Canucks’ 6-5 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens early in the second period and didn’t return.
The NHL team later announced that Edler was out with an “upper-body injury” and wouldn’t return to the game.
After the game, head coach Travis Green was tight-lipped about Edler’s status, saying he had no update on Edler (or on Travis Hamonic, who left the game late in the third period after being injured in a hit along the boards).
It’s not obvious what might have caused Edler’s injury as his last full shift ended not long before Tyler Motte’s goal and there didn’t seem to be any issue for Edler.
The NHL stats counters recorded Edler starting on the ice after Motte’s goal, but he quickly changed, having not played the puck or been hit in that short time.
There’s also an entry in the shift log that suggests he returned briefly late in the period, but it appears to be a data-entry error because Quinn Hughes and Jalen Chatfield were on the ice during the brief time span in question. All three defencemen have 3s in their numbers.
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