The Vancouver Canucks missed the playoffs this season and it seems as though they will head back to the drawing board in hopes of making it back into contention next season. With rumours circulating about forward Brock Boeser testing the open market and hitting free agency, fans have begun to question if the team is headed toward a rebuild. Some recent comments from President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford didn’t make things any easier, as he dropped an interesting tidbit of information about captain Quinn Hughes.
“It may not boil down to money with [Quinn]. He said before he wants to play with his brothers, and that would be partly out of our control. In our control [is] if we brought his brothers here,” said Rutherford.
The comments took fans around the league by surprise, with some calling for the Canucks to face discipline for tampering, considering his statement hints that he wants to bring Jack and Luke Hughes to Vancouver. However, fans seemed to focus more on the first part of his comment, which was that while the team wants to keep their captain as a member of the Canucks, it may not boil down to money and indicated they may not be able to convince him to stay.
Related: Canucks News & Rumours: Rutherford, Tocchet, Hughes, Pettersson & More
All things considered, it seems as though there is some doubt from Canucks management regarding Hughes’ future in Vancouver. I don’t see a world where the Canucks can acquire both of his brothers from the New Jersey Devils, considering their value to their team as they try to remain in contention, it wouldn’t make sense for them to move on from two of their most important players. That leaves one more possibility, the Canucks trading Quinn to the Devils.
Is a Quinn Hughes Trade Possible?
Some fans around the league, including myself, have begun to wonder if a Quinn Hughes trade is possible after the comments from Rutherford. The thing with something like that is that a lot of things need to go right for the Devils to have a chance at acquiring him and reuniting the brothers. Hughes would have to be willing to go to free agency when his contract is up, and make it known to management to give them the chance to move him, the Devils would also have to be willing to move a lot of assets to bring in a player of that caliber.
On top of all of that, the Devils would have to find a way to clear cap space to re-sign him, rather than him just being a rental player. If everything falls into place, the two teams could look at what a monster trade could look like. In theory, the Devils would have to part with Simon Nemec, Dawson Mercer, and at least two first-round picks to get a trade even close to fruition. They would likely have to add more assets, maybe someone like Seamus Casey or Arseny Gritsyuk, but a player like Hughes would not be cheap.
Let’s get back to reality, though. Hughes will not be traded from the Canucks, and it’s unlikely he and his brothers will ever play together. The team has a few seasons to negotiate a new deal with their captain, and I would predict they can get a new deal done to keep him in Vancouver for the rest of his career. No player wants to go through a long rebuild when they know they can help a contending team make a push for a Stanley Cup, and I am sure Hughes is in that same boat, but I find it hard to believe he would want to leave the franchise that has invested so much into him since he was drafted there.
I wouldn’t be surprised if th Canucks tried to overhaul their roster a little bit to make sticking around more enticing for Hughes. Trying to move on from Elias Pettersson after his tough campaign could be another option that frees up some money for them to spend big in free agency to put them back into contention, but time will tell what the team decides to do. For now, the future of Hughes will be in question from fans until he inks a new extension.
As the 2024-25 postseason moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news from around the NHL and the hockey world.
