The Flyers like Quinn Hughes. Are they willing to pay up to get him?
With the Vancouver Canucks’ season spiralling out of control, it has only increased the speculation surrounding captain and All-Star defenseman Quinn Hughes and his future. Hughes, 26, has found his name at the heart of trade discussions going back to last season; Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford even alluded to Hughes wanting to potentially play alongside his brothers with the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils have certainly been the sexy destination for Hughes for obvious reasons, but the Philadelphia Flyers also have recently surfaced as a plausible destination for the 2018 seventh-overall pick. Having a well documented good relationship with Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet from Tocchet’s time in Vancouver, Hughes could have Philadelphia on his bingo card; if he truly wants to play on the Eastern seaboard, there will only be a handful of teams capable of fitting him under the salary cap and paying the necessary price to pry him out of Western Canada.
Speaking with a Flyers source, while the team has not had any conversations with the Canucks regarding Hughes, they are definitely interested in the stud rearguard. The Flyers lack an alpha dog on the back end, nor do they have a prospect in their pipeline who projects to fill that hole. Travis Sanheim is the closest thing they have to a true No. 1 defenseman at this juncture; he is more of an authentic No. 2 on a contending team. Jamie Drysdale and Cam York are certainly quality top-four defenders but strike me more as supporting second-tier types who have already hit or are close to hitting their respective ceilings.
The price for Hughes will certainly be a king’s ransom – which can only increase depending on the amount of interested teams – but the Flyers have both the cap space and assets to put themselves among the top bidders if push comes to shove. They have drafted six times in the first round since 2022 and project to have more than $36.5 million in cap space by the trade deadline this year; they are in good shape for any potential big move.
The Flyers have the most talent (both on and in the system) on the wing that they can use as trade currency. I have speculated recently on what players could be part of a package for a player like Hughes, specifically Tyson Foerster and 2025 sixth-overall pick Porter Martone. Speaking with a team source, Martone (and Matvei Michkov, additionally) is viewed as untouchable and would not be on the table for Hughes. On the flip side: given the competition would be extremely fierce to land a future-Hall-of-Famer like Hughes, would any offer without a talent like Martone even interest the Canucks?
Foerster is someone the team would be reluctant to trade, but I’ve heard that the Flyers would consider it as part of a deal for Hughes. Foerster, 23, is viewed as a core piece for the Flyers; he’s in the midst of a breakout season with 10 goals in 23 games as of Tuesday. Signed at a $3.75 million AAV until 2027, Foerster is at a good dollar value and is poised to be a major bargain for the next 18 months should he continue this level of point production. Foerster has become one of the most relied on forwards for the Flyers, playing in all situations, averaging the fourth most time on ice per game among team forwards and being an analytics darling.
Foerster has been sidelined for the next two to three months due to an upper-body injury. The injury occurred during Monday night’s game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. Foerster is coming off of an offseason injury that he recovered ahead of schedule from to make it in time for the start of the regular season.
If there is a silver lining, I’m told that the injury was not as bad as originally thought. Expected to be back in February – before or just after the Olympic break – Foerster could’ve been sidelined for the entirety of the season given the initial worry. While I can’t say for certain, one source suggested that Foerster will not be having surgery, which would’ve resulted in a longer recovery time.
Would Foerster (plus additional pieces, obviously) be enough for Hughes? It is hard to say what the Canucks are thinking, but Foerster is valued high enough by the Flyers that it sounds like they would draw a hard line on it.
Beyond moving a forward for Hughes, sending back a package centered around a defenseman could be something the Flyers look at. Drysdale and York are two names that the Flyers would consider, I’m told, with the latter already locked in on a five year contract at $5.15-million AAV; the cost certainty could be attractive for the Canucks.
York was drafted in 2019 – a year after Hughes – so the Canucks would be gaining in age there, though marginally. Drysdale, a 2020 first-round pick, is an RFA at season’s end and would fit the timeline for the Canucks if they do embrace a reset of sorts. Either player would not be enough for Hughes one for one, but I don’t get the sense that the Flyers would be prepared to “gut their team” if they are already moving out a top-four defenseman.
Then there is Emil Andrae, who has solidified himself on the Flyers’ back end for the time being. Andrae could be a name that the Canucks could look at, but the Flyers are aware that the surrounding pieces around Andrae would need to be significantly higher as opposed to a York or a Drysdale.
The three aforementioned defensemen are considered “undersized” in the eyes of the Flyers. It is well documented that the Flyers’ brass (specifically president of hockey ops Keith Jones) wants a bigger blueline ahead of them taking the next step to being a Stanley Cup contender. Hughes, despite being an elite talent, is still on the smaller side; should the Flyers find a way to acquire him, they would have to “reconstruct” the defensemen behind him, I’m told. Considering this, it would be practical for the Flyers to include one of their undersized defenders in any deal to acquire Hughes.
I had wondered about when the Flyers would be willing to make this deal; perhaps waiting until next summer when they would know whether they could lock Hughes into an extension beyond 2027? According to a team source, the timing of a trade would not play a factor in acquiring Hughes. Given Hughes not being a rental even on his current deal – signed until 2027 at a $7.85 million AAV – the team would, theoretically, have enough time to flip him to regain value if they felt like they couldn’t sign him to an extension.
In addition to Hughes, there has been speculation the last week or so about the Flyers having interest in some of the Canucks’ forwards. Like with Hughes, Tocchet is familiar with many of the Vancouver forwards – some of which I’m sure he likes. At this point, I’m told that the Flyers have had no discussions with Canucks GM Patrik Allvin regarding any of his forwards.
Keifer Sherwood’s name has been brought up specifically as of late, but I’m told that, while Tocchet may like him, there isn’t any imminent interest on the part of the Flyers to this point. Between Sherwood’s age (30) and being a right shot winger (which the Flyers have a plethora of), there isn’t much of a fit from both a timeline and stylistic perspective.
The Flyers are already preparing for there to be some “movement” over the next six to seven months among their wingers, I’m told, in order to fit prospects Denver Barkey, Alex Bump and Martone into the lineup over the next year or two. Adding a winger to an already crowded group isn’t high on their priority list.
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