Report hints at Quinn Hughes walking out on Canucks for something bigger

During the Canucks’ end-of-season media availability, President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford dropped a bomb when he hinted at the possibility Vancouver could lose Quinn Hughes one day and that he has expressed a desire to play with his brothers Jack and Luke at some point in his NHL career.

“It may not boil down to money with [Quinn]. He said before he wants to play with his brothers. That would be partly out of our control. In our control if we brought his brothers here.” Rutherford said.

Then, during a recent segment on the NHL Network, Ken Daneyko and Mike Johnson were speaking about the priorities in New Jersey and again brought up the idea of landing Quinn Hughes as they discussed the plan for now to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Luke Hughes. They immediately piled on to Rutherford’s comments by claiming Quinn Hughes could be joining Luke and Jack Hughes as a free agent in the summer of 2027.

Johnson explained how Luke Hughes could sign a deal with a shorter term, such as four years, as he waits for Quinn Hughes to possibly join the team and then when he’s due for a new contract, re-up for more money.

“If you’re Luke, you say ‘I’ll take four (years) and I’ll take $28 (million),’ and then you’re back to it. Your brother (Jack) is going to be on the team, too Very likely, the other brother, Quinn, is two years away (from becoming a free agent)-he might be coming as well.” Johnson said.

Fans were shook and it only got worse when insider Greg Wyshynski added oil to the fire with bold claims on the Big Show:

“It’d be insane to let him walk; you could see the situation becoming like a Matthew Tkachuk, where…you know where it’s all headed…and make a deal before he leaves for nothing; it kind of feels like it’s trending that direction.

“But…we’ve gone down this road in the past of just assuming a guy wants to play in the States or with a sibling; we ultimately don’t know what Quinn feeling about the organization or the city is, he might have a different idea than we do.”

The Canucks have been working hard at convincing Quinn Hughes to stay, recently re-signing Brock Boeser to a long-term deal, handing out contract to goalie Thatcher Demko and forward Conor Garland, and trading for Evander Kane. Quinn Hughes is eligible to sign an extension on July 1st, 2026.

Vancouver simply cannot lose the best defenseman the franchise has ever seen after just six full seasons in the NHL. And the Canucks especially cannot lose him for nothing.