Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser out indefinitely with upper-body injury

Vancouver Canucks right winger Brock Boeser will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, the team confirmed Tuesday.

The injury occurred in Sunday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights when Boeser got caught in a collision with fellow Canuck Elias Pettersson and Vegas defenseman Ben Hutton along the boards. Boeser’s arm was behind Hutton as he was hit into the boards by Pettersson, causing it to bend the wrong way. Boeser left the game immediately and did not return.

Boeser is in the midst of the worst season of his career, with just 19 goals and 38 points in 64 games. It’s a career full-season low for him in terms of points despite the fact that he’s played the second most games in a season of his career.

Sunday could very well have been Boeser’s last game in a Canucks uniform, as he found himself in the middle of trade rumors approaching the March deadline and likely will be buzzed about again this summer. Boeser is a pending restricted free agent with a $7.5-million qualifying offer, so the Canucks could deal him to a team that can better afford him on a contract with that price.

The Canucks probably aren’t rushing to bring him back from the injury either, as they are currently out of a playoff spot with not much runway left. They sit 11th in the West with a 32-28-10 record and are eight points back of Vegas and the Nashville Predators for the wildcard spots. With 12 games remaining, the Canucks don’t have much room for error.

Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau also suggested Tuesday that defenseman Tucker Poolman and left winger Nils Hoglander will be out for the rest of the season.