NHL not pursuing tampering charges against Canucks after Rutherford’s comments on Hughes brothers

The moment in question came as Rutherford fielded a question about extending captain Quinn Hughes, who currently has two years remaining on his contract. Rutherford said that it may be about more than money, as the 25-year-old hopes to play alongside his brothers one day.

“It may not boil down to money with him,” said Rutherford. “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.”

Pushed on the subject of possibly trading for the Hughes brothers, he added that he needed to be cautious with his words.

“We got to be careful with tampering here, so we’ll just leave it at that,” he said. “I probably crossed the line anyways.”

Tampering refers to a team attempting to persuade a player under contract with another team to join their roster without going through the proper channels. In this case, Rutherford should have avoided speaking publicly about Jack and Luke’s impact on Quinn Hughes signing in Vancouver long term, as they’re both under contract with the New Jersey Devils (Jack is signed long-term, while Luke is set to become an RFA this summer). With tampering, the fines can be hefty, with the possibility of losing draft picks as well.

And while many in New Jersey media were quick to crucify Rutherford for his comments, it’ll come as a relief that the NHL reportedly doesn’t have any interest in looking into this matter as a serious case of tampering. With the Ottawa Senators being a recent example of a team losing a first-round draft pick for a management error, it’s something no fan wants to see happen to their team, especially after the Canucks have had their share of bad luck already this season.