NHL Rumours: Rutherford and Hughes, Hellebuyck Heated & Barkov Return

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off with the Vancouver Canucks, and how Jim Rutherford knew that the relationship between Quinn Hughes and the club was coming to an end well before the trade happened. Next, we head to the Winnipeg Jets, where Connor Hellebuyck was very clear about how he felt about the team, and could end up on his way out.

Finally, Aleksander Barkov is returning to action and is set to play for Team Finland in the IIHF World Championship.

Rutherford Knew Hughes Was Leaving, Still Signed Big Deals

When a team is heading downhill, and there is knowledge that the franchise cornerstone is leaving, that usually indicates a rebuild will be on the horizon.

For Rutherford, the Canucks’ president of hockey operations, knowing Hughes’ departure was coming is what led to the team signing Conor Garland and Brock Boeser to extensions, as well as goaltender Thatcher Demko.

Having all three of the contracts with trade protection doesn’t help, either. It restricts what the team was able to do with these players.

Moving Hughes to the Wild actually ended up being a pretty good return, which isn’t often the case with superstar trades. Liam Ohgren, Marco Rossi, and Zeev Buium are promising players who should have a long future with the club.

Rutherford stated that he hoped some of these moves would help entice Hughes to stay, but stated he didn’t think it was ever in the cards.

Now, the Canucks are stuck as a basement team with big contracts that were just signed, and now, no general manager.

He stated that he offered Patrik Allvin the opportunity to stay in the organization in an amateur scouting or player development role, but that decision hasn’t been made yet.

Hellebuyck Unhappy with Jets’ Performance

Though he stated several times that he believes in the core of the group, Connor Hellebuyck spoke at his year-end media conference and was very clear about how he feels moving forward.

Mike McIntyre of Winnipeg Free Press gave a quick breakdown on X, stating, “Connor Hellebuyck fired all kinds of shots at the state of the [Jets] and how it’s difficult for him to see an easy way out of this mess. When I asked if this would cause him to reconsider his future, there was an extremely long pause.”

The Jets already have a tough time recruiting new players. Hellebuyck defended that sentiment by stating he has made Winnipeg his home and that he does love it there, but complacency is unacceptable.

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has the hardest job in the league, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that they lost Nikolaj Ehlers and Mason Appleton for nothing, and replaced them with the likes of Gustav Nyquist and Tanner Pearson.

When asked about the future of the team and the direction they would be going, Hellebuyck stated that it would be a better question for Cheveldayoff to answer.

There are plenty of teams who would line up to take Hellebuyck from the Jets, and while it would take a giant package, nothing is impossible.

Barkov Returning to Hockey After Missing Entire Season

After having knee surgery to repair his MCL and ACL, Barkov was expected to be healthy around the end of the regular season, and the possibility of playoff action was real. Unfortunately for the Florida Panthers, they dealt with so many injuries and were unable to claw their way out of the hole and get back to the playoffs. Instead, they are heading into the draft lottery, hoping that with the ninth-best odds, their pick remains in the top 10 so it doesn’t transfer to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Barkov was a key piece for the club. He is one of the best centres in the NHL, and while they have great depth at centre, he is irreplaceable.

The good news is that Barkov is going to play for Team Finland at the IIHF World Championship. This is going to give him the chance to get some game action before an offseason of training and heading back into the 2026-27 regular season.

The expectation for the Panthers is to contend for the Stanley Cup again next season. They are in a weird spot. After back-to-back championships and then missing the playoffs, most teams would be counted out for the following season. This one worked as a bit of a gap year after playing nearly an entire extra season’s worth of playoff games over the last three seasons.