Photo credit: TSN
Captain Quinn Hughes has sent a strong message for Rick Tocchet and the Canucks' coaching staff.
The Vancouver Canucks will head into the 2024-25 season with a couple of new names on the blueline - Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais, which could lead to the coaching staff shuffling up the pairings to start the year.
During a radio appearance on Canucks Central recently, Quinn Hughes was asked about the Canucks' coaching staff willing to experiment a bit and potentially having him not with Filip Hronek. Quinn Hughes said that he's always been a person that thinks you shouldn't fix things that aren't broken, referring to his chemistry with Hronek.
"I'm always under the assumption of don't fix what's not broken, you know? Me and Fil [Hronek] were great last year, we were a plus-40, the team was a goal away from going to the Conference Final. I haven't really talked to anyone about it, I love playing with Fil. I can play with Juulsen or Myers, we've got a lot of good players to play with, but I fit best with Fil. You've seen that, proof is in the pudding." Hughes said.
We'll have to wait and see what Rick Tocchet and his coaching staff decides to do, but like Quinn Hughes said, 'proof is in the pudding'. During the first half of the 2023-24 season, Hughes and Hronek were arguably the best pairing in the National Hockey League, especially from an offensive standpoint, but the Czech blueliner had a tough time in the second half of the year.
At least to start the year, Tocchet should have Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek together because we all know what they're capable of when they're on the same pairing. Both players set new career highs in points and pushed each other to be better, which helped not only them, but the team as a whole in the long run.
