Red Wings a team to watch in Quinn Hughes sweepstakes
Another potential wrinkle in the Quinn Hughes saga.
There has been plenty of discussion on what the Vancouver Canucks might do with their captain. With the team in a state of limbo, despite being just over a season removed from winning the Pacific Division, there’s been a growing sense that the team might be willing to trade Hughes if the price is right.
The Orlando, Fla. native has one more season on his six-year contract remaining following this season, with a cap hit of $7.85 million. There’s little doubt that Hughes’ next contract is going to be well north of his current AAV, which might be a concern for Vancouver if the team isn’t in a position to contend.
A team that might be a suitable trade partner for the Canucks is the Detroit Red Wings – a team with loads of young assets, and wants to become a legitimate playoff threat sooner rather than later.
On Wednesday’s edition of Morning Cuppa Hockey, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman joined the show, stating the Red Wings could be a potential trade partner with the Canucks, if the terms were right.
Elliotte Friedman: I think that the challenge here for Vancouver is that the longer this goes, the more it tips to Hughes…in terms of the leverage. You always have to take a look at the clock. … Quinn Hughes is two years away from unrestricted free agency. The longer that goes, the more the leverage tips to the player, and it affects what a team can get for him.
So, unless a [Philadelphia Flyers] or a Detroit decides they wanted to trade a [Lucas] Raymond or a [Matvei] Michkov in this deal, I don’t see that being the case, but I do see legitimate NHLers going in return for that. The one thing that Detroit has that Philly doesn’t is – they have a center. I do think when I rank the teams and I say who can do this and where would Hughes want to go, I would say Detroit’s very high on my list.
Can you see [Steve Yzerman] not being interested in Quinn Hughes? Can you see Quinn Hughes not being interested in Detroit when the time comes? I think they’re very legit, and Detroit has centers, and centers have been playing in the NHL. I’m not talking about the depth guys. … I think Detroit is a team to watch. One thing that they’ve made very clear in Vancouver is they have to get another center. They need somebody to play behind Elias Pettersson. Their best chance to do it is if they end up trading Hughes. So, if that happens, I’m looking at teams that have a No. 2 center that can play with Pettersson, and Detroit has one of those guys.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…