The Vancouver Canucks announced that left wing Antoine Roussel suffered a lower-body injury during Tuesday night’s matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team’s announcement came from coach Travis Green, who stated that Roussel should be around for around two weeks.
Antoine Roussel will be out a couple weeks, per Coach Green.
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) April 22, 2021
Antoine Roussel Injury Against Maple Leafs
The injury occurred on a relatively innocent play near center ice. Leafs forward Mitch Marner spun to try and control the puck and lost his balance mid-turn. As he fell onto his backside, Marner collapsed directly into the legs of Roussel, who was moving towards him. Antoine Roussel suffered the injury in that moment as he dropped awkwardly to the ice. Grimacing in pain, he left the game shortly thereafter.
So far this season, Roussel scored one goal and three assists for just four points in 35 games. He added 37 minutes in penalties as well. His possession numbers sat at 48.0 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 0.6%.
Over his nine-year NHL career, Roussel suited up for the Dallas Stars and then the Canucks since 2018-19. His 81 goals and 108 assists combine for 189 career points in 553 career games. Originally an undrafted forward, Roussel signed his first professional contract with the Providence Bruins of the AHL in 2010. By 2012-13 he reached the Stars.
What This Means for the Future
Roussel has one year remaining on a 4-year contract with a $3 million cap hit per season. Not known for offensive prowess, he brings physicality and hard-nosed effort to the game on a nightly basis. One goal in 34 games, though, underwhelms even with reduced expectations for the grinder.
Through this season, Roussel’s average ice time sits at 11:42 per night, the lowest of his career since his rookie season in 2012-13. The team’s performance has been equally disappointing. Vancouver sits near the bottom of the North Division and likely finishes outside the playoff picture. Although they hold an abundance of games in hand, those come from recent COVID delays after massive breakouts in their organization. They won their first game back earlier in the week, but with a jam-packed schedule ahead, it’s hard to imagine them outperforming their already disappointing trajectory from before their pause. Not to mention the fact that some players still remain unfit to play as they recover from the illness.
Roussel’s absence forces Vancouver to dig deeper in their already depleted reserves to fight through their tight upcoming schedule. They go without two days between games from now until their season concludes in mid-May.
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