If Canucks do the unthinkable and trade Quinn Hughes…what would be his ideal landing spot?
Superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes has ignited the NHL rumor mill as pundits and fans wonder whether his days as a Vancouver Canuck are actually winding down. For all the talk of him joining Jack and Luke with the New Jersey Devils, it’s debatable whether the hockey fit makes sense – would Quinn and Luke be a bit redundant, for instance?
So, Roundtable: imagine a scenario in which Quinn Hughes tells the Canucks he wants out. Where would you like to see him go, and why?
MATT LARKIN: I think the Philadelphia Flyers would be a fun fit. Philly is one of the best markets in sports, period, and the NHL is more fun when the Flyers matter. Hughes joining a rising core including Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone, and reuniting with head coach Rick Tocchet, would be an interesting match. The question is whether GM Danny Briere could pull off a Hughes heist without giving up any of said pieces from the core. If you’re Vancouver, you ask for Martone at the very least, right?
MIKE GOULD: I’m quite certain Quinn will end up playing with his brothers in the end, but because that’s too boring a prospect to relitigate today, here’s a crazy, crazy idea instead. Hughes and Cale Makar are both eligible to become unrestricted free agents in 2027. The Avs are an incredible team, but what if they win the Cup this year and Makar decides his business with them is complete? What if he decides he wants to go home? After all, his hometown Calgary Flames have a new arena slated to open the very same summer Makar can become a UFA. So … let’s slide the pieces across the board. Makar goes to Calgary, and the Colorado Avalanche, in desperate need of a new face on the blueline, make a play for Hughes. Yes, it’s patently absurd, but then again, so is the idea that Hughes would sign a long-term deal in Philadelphia …
ANTHONY TRUDEAU: Any hypothetical NHL trade, even for a top-10 guy like Quinn Hughes, has to rule out some untouchables on the buyer side. These are NHL GMs, remember: if they were any more conservative, they’d be Puritans. The question, then, becomes who can table the best offer for Hughes without dangling a franchise-level talent. The answer? The Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks are flush with cap space, and they’re slowly turning the corner on the ice. Even if they don’t listen to any offer that mentions Connor Bedard (duh), Spencer Knight, Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, or Alex Vlasic, there are still enough drafted prospects in their war chest to help the ‘Nucks kickstart a rebuild. Chicago GM Kyle Davidson could build a package around D-man Kevin Korchinski, a former seventh-overall pick who played 76 NHL games as a teenager, and BU standout Sacha Boisvert, the sort of center Vancouver desperately needs, without really feeling it; Chicago’s pipeline is that loaded. If Davidson can serve up readymade blue-chippers before draft capital even enters the picture, how will anyone else keep up if and when the Hughes sweepstakes kick off?
PAUL PIDUTTI: Similar to Anthony’s line of thinking with his Chicago pick, I’d love to see Hughes in a San Jose Sharks jersey if he moves on from Vancouver. This won’t bring him any closer to his brothers geographically, but that angle has always felt propped up by the media. The Sharks have a ways to go to be legitimate contenders, but Hughes would accelerate the rebuild. Their young forward pieces are exciting and deep and Yaroslav Askarov looks to be their goalie of the future. Outside of Sam Dickinson, however, they don’t have any other stone cold lock blueline prospects. Hughes with Macklin Celebrini would be a sweet symphony and boost a Sharks’ power play that’s middle of the pack. With their fellow interstate rebuilders in Anaheim also taking the long road to contender status, Hughes’ injection to San Jose would amplify a future California divisional rivalry too. The Sharks have the futures to land Hughes and the long-term cap space to pay him beyond his current deal.
SCOTT MAXWELL: Since none of us seems to be going with the obvious answer of New Jersey, I’ll say the Detroit Red Wings. While their defense corps has been much improved this season, they still do need help on the blueline, and Quinn Hughes is the perfect player to infuse into the lineup and open their contention window. Detroit has the cap space to add him without even needing to move money, and they’ll definitely have enough space for a new contract based on how their current cap picture is laid out. They’re also one of the few teams with a prospect pool deep enough to give the Canucks a strong offer. Oh, and Hughes spent two years at the University of Michigan, so he’s familiar with the area. The Red Wings are finally showing signs that the Yzerplan is coming to fruition, and Hughes may be the kind of long-term lineup influx they need to put them over the top.
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