NHL News: Controversial action in Canucks-Wild leads to season-ending injury, HC Rick Tocchet confirms

After being eliminated from playoff contention, the Vancouver Canucks received more bad news in the 2024-25 NHL season. Following their 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed that a defenseman on the roster had suffered a severe injury due to a highly disputed, eye-raising play.

Tocchet and the Canucks just haven’t caught a break all season long. Drama and injuries took their toll on a team that entered the NHL season hoping to be in the mix for the Stanley Cup, but ran into obstacle after obstacle.

With nothing left to play for this season, the Canucks have announced that Elias Pettersson will not return due to an upper-body injury. To add insult to injury, another Vancouver player has gone down with a season-ending ailment after taking a harsh, controversial punch.

Defenseman Derek Forbort suffered a broken orbital bone after taking a late punch from Wild center Yakov Trenin, head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed. Trenin landed the blow to Forbort’s face while the defenseman was already down on the ice and surrounded by officials.

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet looks on during the third period of their NHL game against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena on October 9, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Unneccesary roughness

The Wild forward’s aggression raised eyebrows across the league, with many questioning the necessity of such a hit in that situation. Tocchet believes that as well, as he agreed with fellow defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who didn’t mince words about the punch.

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“One of the dirtiest things I’ve seen,” Canucks defenseman Marcus Pettersson said, per The Province. “It was a scary, scary punch.”

Handed it to the Wild

While the Canucks were already out of playoff contention heading into the game, they still hoped to secure the two points — but fell short against a Wild team fighting for their lives.

“We were defending a lot in that game,” Pettersson added. “There were some more plays to be made and we kind of gave it away to them too much and let them come out of this. They’re a desperate team. They need this point, so I think we kind of handed it to them by giving them the puck too much.”

Vancouver will close out its season with home matchups against the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights, on April 14-16, respectively.