It turns out that Quinn Hughes’ future in Vancouver was uncertain whether he was traded or not.
Hughes informed the Canucks just before American Thanksgiving that he would not be signing an extension with the team this summer, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during the “Saturday Headlines” segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Canucks traded the superstar defenceman to the Minnesota Wild on Friday for blue-liner Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Vancouver currently occupies last place in the NHL standings with an 11-17-3 record and had lost six of eight games prior to Turkey Day south of the border. Friedman noted that Hughes visibly struggled with the losing.
According to Friedman, a number of potential suitors on the trade market were scared off by Hughes’ unwillingness to provide a long-term commitment, a sentiment that his agent Pat Brisson was quoted expressing after the trade occurred.
“We were looking for a fit where hopefully Quinn will have a tremendous hockey experience and re-evaluate from there whether he will extend or not,” Brisson said to The Athletic on Saturday. “But I wasn’t able to guarantee to any of the teams whether he would sign or not.”
The Wild and New Jersey Devils were reportedly the only two teams not turned away by Hughes’ hesitancy to commit.
“I just think they (the Devils) felt they were in a really good position,” said Friedman.
“New Jersey, they could not clear the cap room.”
Money ultimately got in the way of the Hughes brothers potentially being united.
The oldest of the three Hughes brothers, Quinn, has two goals and 21 assists in 26 games this season. Over 459 regular-season games during his seven-and-a-half seasons in Vancouver, Hughes amassed 432 points, and set a new record for points by a Canucks defenceman in October when he passed Alex Edler (409).
