Canucks Injury Updates: Edler Probable, Tanev out and Granlund’s a Maybe

Bodies are flying in and out of the Canucks’ infirmary at an alarming rate, especially on the blue line. Here’s the latest news to come out of the Canucks gameday skate ahead of their match with the Anaheim Ducks tonight at 7 PM.

Alexander Edler’s been sidelined with an MCL sprain, suffered in a 2-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on October 12th. The original estimate for a recovery was four-to-six weeks, and if Edler skates tonight, that would put him on track for the low-end of that timeline.

Markus Granlund, meanwhile, is a game-time decision. Granlund suffered an upper-body injury in Monday night’s 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Canucks were without Granlund’s services for their Tuesday night win over the Calgary Flames, but the expectation was always that he would join the Canucks in time for the California portion of their road trip.

The only certainty to come out of today’s gameday skate concerning injured Canucks involved defenceman Chris Tanev. Tanev, who did appear hobbled by an injury at one point in the Canucks win over the Flames, will miss the rest of the Canucks road trip with an upper-body injury.

Canucks head coach Travis Green is going to have some roster juggling to do. Edler’s likely return and Tanev’s absence means that the Canucks are going to have to shift one of their lefthanded defencemen to the right side. The most likely candidate, in my estimation, is Derrick Pouliot, who played the right side sparingly during his time in junior with the Portland Winterhawks.

It will also be interesting to see what happens to the Canucks forwards. Brendan Gaunce returned to the Canucks lineup in Granlund’s stead on Tuesday, playing in his spot on the checking line alongside Brandon Sutter and Derek Dorsett. Speculation around town has been that Jake Virtanen and Alexander Burmistrov, among others, could find themselves in the press box for a spell when the Canucks have a full complement of forwards. The Canucks might encounter such a scenario tonight.

The good news? Baby watch is over for Anders Nilsson and the Canucks.