Vancouver Canucks’ Dan Hamhuis back from injury
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis is set to return to action on Tuesday 9 November against the Montreal Canadiens.
Hamhuis has been out for eight games after suffering a foot injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on 17 October. Nevertheless, the Canucks have been able to maintain success without him in the line-up, as their defence core has made several upgrades since
the 2009-10 season.
Hamhuis was signed as a free agent over the summer and was expected to fill a major role, taking over on the club’s first pairing. However, the 27-year-old has had little time to assimilate himself into the Canucks' line-up and did not look comfortable in
his first five games before the injury. Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault is hoping that Hamhuis will be able to find his role swiftly, upon his return.
Hamhuis’ return will force Keith Ballard out of the line-up. Ballard was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers over the off-season and was expected to bring more stability to the Canucks back end. Unfortunately, Ballard suffered a concussion early
in the year and only returned to the line-up on 1 November. Since that time the 27-year-old has struggled and will be a healthy scratch for the time being.
“Dan is ready to play and I told Keith he wasn’t going,” Vigneault told the Canadian Press. “I really think [Ballard’s] game is coming along. He had a little setback because of the concussion and missed a few days of work and that permitted other guys to
step into the line-up and play really well. This game is about playing the guys who are playing the best and right now I feel the other guys are playing better than him.”
So far in five games this season Hamhuis has only been able to register one assist.
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