Canucks injury updates – Virtanen out a month

The Canucks have returned home after a California road trip a lot worse for wear.

Hitting the ice this morning for practice at Rogers Arena saw some new lines due to the addition of Ryan Spooner and the various ailments. Head Coach Travis Green provided the following update about the injured players:

Demko has been sidelined for two weeks from a knee injury suffered in practice, a case that may be helped by chiropractic services to speed the recovery process along. It originally had a timeline of 7-10 days but we have clearly passed that and don’t have a definitive return date, but, it is good to see that he is back skating and his return shouldn’t be too much longer.

Edler has been out since hitting his face on the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 4th. He was diagnosed with a concussion and some cuts to his face, so like Demko, no official timeline to come back but it’s good to see that he has hit the ice while getting over both of those. With no setbacks, he shouldn’t be too much behind Demko in his return.

It’s unlikely both with be available for Thursday:

Jacob Markstrom wasn’t on the ice this morning but given how much he has played and being out for a game last week, it’s not surprising to see him take a maintenance day. The Canucks don’t play again until Thursday, so giving the netminder so more rest is likely the best course of action.

Tanev’s ankle injury is still a bit of mystery but since he was placed on IR on February 15th, he won’t be available until at least the 22nd and given that he isn’t skating now, it’s unlikely he will be available anytime near then.

Lastly, we were provided with a definitive update on Jake Virtanen. After being hit by Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim, Virtanen did not play against Los Angeles or San Jose and was placed on I.R. yesterday. He is expected to miss a month of action with a fractured rib.