Brock Boeser and Zeev Buium were both placed on the Canucks' IR on Monday.
Off the heels of Thatcher Demko’s season-ending hip surgery announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have provided updates on the injuries to Brock Boeser and Zeev Buium. Both players were injured on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and subsequently placed on injured reserve as a result.
The first injury occurred to Buium, who took a puck to the face during the game but returned with a face shield to finish the match.
“I know it’s not the orbital bone where he does have a fracture, and probably his high cheekbone,” Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote said of Buium’s injury. “The doctors don’t think it’s surgery, but he’s going to get a second opinion in the next couple days, waiting for that. The first doctor doesn’t think it’s gonna need surgery, but we want to make sure they roll it out through another opinion.”
One of the concerns many have expressed is the fact that Buium was allowed to return to play despite his injury. Foote noted that the defenceman’s bravery in playing despite the injury was something he liked to see.
“You break a bone under your eye, and the swelling at that age, you can tell why it affected his game. But that’s what I like, is his courage to play [...] an injury like that, shows great things for the future.”
Boeser, on the other hand, also received a shot to the head — just not from a puck. The forward was on the receiving end of a hit to the head from Penguins forward Bryan Rust, who was given a three-game suspension for the action earlier today. Foote confirmed that Boeser is currently in concussion protocol, but that it may not be as bad of an issue as many think it may be.
“He’s in the protocol for probably a week, but he says he felt a lot better yesterday. He didn’t feel that it affected his neck, which I wasn’t sure [about] [...] because he got kind of hit at almost the same time from behind as well, and I was worried about his neck, but Brock’s tough, and it was good news to hear him speak and say, ‘This isn’t as bad as what I’ve had in the past.’ So that’s a good sign. But who knows, right?”
Jan 25, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium (24) skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesFoote also provided a brief update on Marco Rossi, who is expected back anywhere from the last couple of games before the Olympic break to after the break at the end of February.
“He was looking good a week ago, and then [had] a little bit of setback. We thought we might get him for the second or last game of this break, and it's looking like it's probably going to go into the break.”
The Canucks take on the San Jose Sharks for the third time this season tonight, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
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