Rick Tocchet Doesn't Hold Back Describing His Decision to Healthy Scratch Carson Soucy

With the addition of two new defensemen into the lineup - Marcus Pettersson and Victor Mancini, it was unclear until warmup who was going to be scratched.

Captain Quinn Hughes, who was banged up in Friday's game in Dallas, was made a late scratch after taking the warmup, but Carson Soucy was also left out of the lineup and it was unclear why.

Many were wondering if it had to do with an injury or something minor he was dealing with, but it turns out, according to Daniel Wagner of Vancouver Is Awesome, it was just a coaching decision.

After the 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet met with reporters and was asked about his decision to make Carson Soucy a healthy scratch.

Tocchet said that Soucy has had a tough go recently and needed a reset, hence the healthy scratch against the Red Wings.

Soucy, 40, has appeared in 51 games this season for the Vancouver Canucks where he's put up eight points (two goals, six assists), 42 penalty minutes and is a minus-15.

The Viking, Alberta native has one year left on his contract after the 2024-25 season with a cap hit of $3.25 million and his full no-trade clause will move to a modified no-trade in 2025-26, which could help on the trade front if Patrik Allvin wants to down that route next year.

We'll have to wait and see if Carson Soucy is inserted back into the lineup anytime soon, with Vancouver's next game coming on Tuesday night as they host Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche.