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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes
As speculation grows about Quinn Hughes possibly leaving Vancouver, one former NHL defenseman suggested the Canucks might actually be better off if he does.
A recent episode of the Empty Netters podcast opened with a discussion about the NHL’s shift toward young, fast puck-moving defensemen — players like Cale Makar, Lane Hutson, and Adam Fox. But guest James Wisniewski didn’t think Hughes belonged in that group.
“If you want my personal opinion, I don’t think you win a [Stanley] Cup with that man,” Wisniewski said.
Wisniewski stressed that he feels Hughes is a fantastic player who is fun to watch, but the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder just is not built for the “next level” of hockey in the playoffs.
“Dude, this kid is unbelievable. He’s way better than me,” Wisniewski said. “I’m not saying anything. I’m just saying as an all-around game, as a winner … that’s not your Zdeno Chara, right?”
Former NHLer James Wisniewski Suggests Quinn Hughes not Built for Playoff Hockey
Wisniewski might not be sold, but at least one current NHL player sees Hughes as the kind of defenseman around which a team can be built. Recently appearing on the Barstool golf-focused podcast Fore Play, New York Islanders forward Mat Barzal raved about the Islanders’ recent first-round draft pick Matthew Schaefer being one of those players that has to be drafted, because they rarely become available on the open market.
Kind of like Quinn Hughes.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Quinn Hughes in Vancouver right now, but those kind of d-men are so [rare,] and I feel like to get to that next level as a franchise, you need one of those guys,” Barzal said.
Well, Hughes may leave to become somebody else’s “not Zdeno Chara” when his contract is up in two years. If the Canucks don’t try to trade him first.
Vancouver President Suggests Quinn Hughes Likely to Sign Elsewhere
Jim Rutherford, the team’s president of hockey operations, raised a few eyebrows just after last season ended with a comment about Hughes that seemed to signal a solid potential for the 25-year-old team captain to be wearing a different sweater after he signs his next contract. Rutherford said while he is committed to keeping Hughes in Vancouver, the strong desire to play alongside his younger brothers Jack and Luke Hughes, currently with the New Jersey Devils, could ultimately win out.
“He’s said before he wants to play with his brothers, and that would be partly out of our control — in our control if we brought his brothers here,” Rutherford said. “So, there’s many moving parts.”
But Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers pushed back in mid-July against any suggestion that the Canucks may seek to trade Hughes, to New Jersey or anywhere. While acknowledging the prospect of the Hughes brothers skating together is “a big, big story around the hockey world,” Myers said on the Cam and Strick Podcast that Hughes just shakes off “all that speculation and stuff.”
“Everyone makes it a lot more than it is,” Myers said.
