Inside Scoop: Why the Vancouver Canucks Are Dodging the Quinn Hughes Talk Right Now

Sometimes, the hardest conversations are the ones we wish we could sidestep – and that’s exactly where the Vancouver Canucks find themselves with Quinn Hughes. Elliotte Friedman, dropping in from Sportsnet’s Fan 590 Hockey Show, peeled back the curtain on trade rumors swirling around Hughes, revealing a tension both sides didn’t sign up for just yet. It’s a messy tableau: whispers of the New Jersey Devils lurking as the likely suitor, uncertainty over Hughes’ trade protections, and a marketplace buzzing with speculation while the Canucks maintain an almost eerie silence. This isn’t just about a player’s next contract or team; it’s about timing, loyalty, and the raw business of hockey playing out before fans’ very eyes. And let me tell you, the drama that Vancouver’s front office has invited here isn’t the kind you can quietly sweep under the rug. At stake is more than just a trade; it’s the direction of a franchise testing its fate in a league where nothing stays still for long. Wanna dig deeper? LEARN MORE.

Did the Vancouver Canucks Need to Have This Quinn Hughes Conversation Now?

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on the Fan 590 Hockey Show in Toronto and was asked about the Quinn Hughes trade rumors. Friedman stated that neither party wanted this conversation to happen now.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

NHL Rumors: Quinn Hughes Trade Talks Are Taboo Around the League

Host: “Okay, so speaking of oh boy, you dropped a bomb on Saturday. Quinn Hughes, you mentioned this on Headlines. There have been teams that have reached out to the Vancouver Canucks. You mentioned New Jersey being one of them, like Fuchs (Mike Futa) and I have talked about this on the air, off the air, it just really feels like all roads lead to New Jersey in some way, shape or form. Whether it be via trade or in free agency.

Because, I mean, without knowing anything certain, with certainty, I don’t know, feels like Quinn Hughes is destined for the New Jersey Devils. Because if he gets traded somewhere else, because he doesn’t have any trade protection at the moment and for the rest of his contract, that maybe he doesn’t sign an extension, and that seriously handicaps what the Vancouver Canucks are able to do in a trade.”

Elliotte Friedman: “I have to tell you, I think that’s all the kind of stuff that is being sort of discussed and sorted out right now. And I think that one of the challenges here is that I don’t know that Hughes thought that this would be happening now. I mean, I don’t know that anybody thought that this could potentially happen now, and we’ll see what happens.

It’s clear to me, since we spoke on Saturday, that there’s more going on out there. Like, sometimes, that’s the way it works, Matty. The glass breaks, and then more starts leaking through. And, I’ll say one thing about this, like, Vancouver is pretty much radio silent on this. Like they don’t want to talk about it. They recognize the radioactive nature of this conversation, particularly in their own market. And the Canucks aren’t saying anything.

And what I think is that I think there have been some, at least, conversations about it. I don’t know where it stands. I think there’s a few teams who’ve talked and, I think one of the challenges here is that, as I said this morning on the pod, there’s a pretty lively debate out there about, where Hughes would like his end team to be. He said it before because he thinks the question is kind of dumb. Of course, he’d want to play with his brothers. But, is it the right time? Is it even workable? Could it happen at this point?

NHL Rumors: Quinn Hughes Was Asked About the New Jersey Devils Trade Talks

Like right now, Vancouver, if they want to do this, the biggest control they have is they control where he’s going, right? And so, I mean, it’s and, as I said, I’m not sure Hughes thought that this would be a conversation now. So you’re trying to play, and also you’re probably deciding, ‘Hey, where do I see my long-term future?’

So I think there’s a lot of balls in the air. I think there’s basically, what I think has happened is that this conversation has been forced to occur before everybody was really ready for it, I think. And, so I think, could I say the word think more times in a sentence? I think what I believe is, what I believe is that everybody is kind of figuring this all out and where we’re going.”

NHLRumors.com Note: The Vancouver Canucks brought this firestorm surrounding Quinn Hughes themselves. Whether they actually move him now or later on is up for debate. But was it wise for President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford to say Quinn Hughes wanted to play with his brothers? Probably not. Neither was putting the memo out about being open for business. How the Canucks love drama, and it’s been there for many years. That’s how they operate.

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