Well this is great. This is juuuuust great.
Not only did the league decide not to suspend Nazem Kadri for a brutal, blindside hit on Daniel Sedin (yes, he hit him in the head; no, I don鈥檛 give a damn if he grazed Daniel鈥檚 shoulder first), and not only did the game against the Leafs devolve into spears, mismatched fights, and line brawls, but now .听
What鈥檚 the injury? How did he get hurt? There鈥檚 no information on that just yet, but I do know who this hurts the most: the fans. Unless Hansen is, like, really badly hurt; then it definitely hurts him most.
Hansen has been one of the lone bright spots on the Canucks this season. Early on, he elevated Brandon Sutter and Markus Granlund to the point that they almost looked like top-six forwards. Then when he was reunited with the Sedins, he made them look like first-liners again.
He鈥檚 now tied for the team-lead in points, even if that鈥檚 not saying much when the Canucks have been shut out in literally a third of their games. But it鈥檚 no coincidence that when the Canucks finally broke out of their scoring slump, Hansen had the primary assist.
Hansen picked up another primary assist on Daniel鈥檚 goal that he scored while Kadri was trying to decapitate him. He took a hit himself making the pass to Daniel, a blindside hit from Morgan Rielly that had the Canucks bench up in arms and likely explains why Alex Burrows tried to impale him on his stick later in the period.
It鈥檚 possible that Hansen was injured on that hit鈥攁 delayed concussion or neck pain from having his head whipped around鈥攐r the injury could have come from when he fought Kadri a moment later, attempting to protect a star player that the NHL鈥檚 Department of Player Safety apparently doesn鈥檛 care about protecting.
Without Hansen, the Canucks might be in trouble. He鈥檚 second on the Canucks in ice time at even-strength and short-handed. He plays in every situation but the power play and, quite frankly, he should be playing there too. Drop Brandon Sutter from the first unit and put him there with Loui Eriksson, the Sedins, and Philip Larsen. I mean, after he comes back from his injury.
Honestly, 鈥渕ight be in trouble鈥� is such a relative term. When it comes to results, the Canucks can鈥檛 get much worse, as they鈥檝e lost eight straight. But when it comes to entertainment, losing the speedy, hard-working Dane will definitely hurt. With Hansen out, the Canucks will be even less fun to watch.听
