Canucks get the worst possible news in the midst of worst season in franchise history

Buckle up, Vancouver Canucks fans... if you thought this team couldn't get any worse, you're in for a rude awakening.

Today head coach Bruce Boudreau announced that superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes will be out of the lineup week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.

Check it out:

An absolute crushing blow to a team that cannot afford ANY bad news.

The Canucks, of course, have lost their first six games to start the season and are the subject of much fan and media attention. Hughes has been one of the lone bright spots with the team, along with star forward Elias Pettersson. The general consensus is that Hughes is doing it alone on the back end and Pettersson is doing it alone up front. The Canucks' defense corps is woefully thin with truly just Hughes, Tyler Myers and Oliver Ekman Larsson instilled as the team's legitimate NHL quality blueliners. Sorry, not sorry but the likes of Luke Schenn, Kyle Burroughs, Jack Rathbone and Tucker Poolman just aren't up to snuff. No disrespect to those guys, but they're all bottom pairing or healthy scratches on all 31 other NHL teams. On the Canucks though, Schenn is a top pairing guy. Yikes...

At this point, something's got to give in Vancouver. They play one of the best teams in the NHL tonight in the Carolina Hurricanes and they'll do so now without their best defenseman, arguably their best player period. Double yikes.

If the wheels fall off for the Canucks again this evening, I wouldn't be surprised if head coach Bruce Boudreau is sent packing. Boudreau is a lame duck coach as it is with no commitment beyond this season. Sure, the Canucks played some inspired hockey with him behind the bench down the stretch last season, but it's clear to everyone this season that Boudreau just doesn't have this team ready and he doesn't have any command over his players. The Canucks are playing uninspired hockey and have been lacking the physical conditioning to get through a full 60 minute game. 

No word yet on the exact nature of Hughes' injury. Stay tuned.