Canucks Live: Hughes blues as one of the teams courting Quinn comes to town

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It’s a big week for Hughes news. With Canucks captain Quinn Hughes at the centre of ongoing trade rumours, two of the teams that are most heavily rumoured to be in the sweepstakes, the Red Wings and later the Devils are on the Canucks horizon. Detroit is at Rogers Arena tonight and Vancouver visits New Jersey next Sunday with a visit of Buffalo sandwiched in between.

Ben Kuzma examined the team’s schedule this week, but looked at the Hughes furor after media reports had the Devils and Canucks talking about a deal last week.

Nothing is imminent on the trade front, and with the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers also showing interest in Hughes, it’s prudent for the Canucks to weigh competing offers if Hughes doesn’t sign a contract extension. He could be dealt after the Winter Olympics and before the March 8 trade deadline, or even sooner.

As for that Devils-Canucks conversation, Hughes wasn’t part of it.

“It’s not like me, Jim (Canucks president Rutherford) and Fitzy (Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald) hopped on a call, I wasn’t part of that,” said Hughes. “But, obviously, I’m aware that things like that could happen.”

So, buckle up. It could be a wild ride this week amid rampant speculation as to where Hughes may land and what he could command. Especially with the Canucks hosting the Red Wings on Monday and kicking off a five-game road trip crammed into nine days on Dec. 14 in New Jersey. 

The other big trade target has of course been Kiefer Sherwood. News came out of Minnesota this weekend that while the Wild’s interest has been well known, the asking price may be a bit rich.

As talked about on last week’s “Worst Seats in the House” podcast and reported by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Wild have shown significant interest in pending free agent Kiefer Sherwood, who carries a $1.5 million AAV and makes $1.3 million in salary. The hard-nosed, physical, strong-skating forward is coming off a 19-goal season and scored 12 goals in the first 20 games.

The Canucks have shopped him around the league and originally wanted a good, young prospect. According to league sources, the Wild offered one (it’s unclear who) and the Canucks have since changed gears. Reportedly, they now want a good roster player and have also asked teams for a first-round pick.

While there are rumours they’d be interested in the injured Rossi, we can’t see the Wild trading Rossi in a deal for Sherwood.

Ironically, the Canucks turned down an offer from the Wild for Rossi at the draft that would have involved Aatu Raty (scored two goals and an assist and had one goal overturned against the Wild on Saturday night), the No. 15 pick and goalie Arturs Silovs.

Sherwood, by the way, has no goals in his last nine games and turns 31 later this season. He has yet to play 300 games. Was the beginning of the season simply a hot streak and not the real Sherwood?

While the vultures circle, it’s funny to see every interaction being interpreted as a reason why “team X” will get Hughes. Here a blog from tonight’s opponent’s media makes a case that because Elias Pettersson and Hughes had an animated discussion in Friday’s woeful loss to Utah, that means, à la J.T. Miller, Pettersson is forcing Hughes out of Vancouver.

The team lost 4-1 to the Utah Mammoth, and during the game, Hughes seemed to show signs of irritation towards Elias Pettersson.
It’s not rare to see athletes lose their tempers amid rough patches, and with the Canucks going through one right now, it appears Hughes isn’t having it.
According to a post on X, Hughes lost patience in a discussion at the bench. The X user mentioned that he said some harsh words to Pettersson, but it’s more likely that he said he was going for the puck in a passionate way, as players do in crucial situations.
The Canucks were looking to get back in a game, after all.
The last time it reached that level, the team traded Miller. Could they trade Hughes this time? He has another season left on his contract and doesn’t seem to be enjoying Vancouver as much as he did.
If he were to become available on the market, many teams would be interested, but the Red Wings have been all over the rumours, suggesting Detroit could be among the most likely destinations for the star defenceman. 

And of course as these rumours swirl ever stronger, the big question for Canucks fans is what would a likely return be?

The cost is suggested to be a young center who could fit the retool timeline in Vancouver, say Marco Kasper, a former 8th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, who has plenty of upside still yet to tap into.
Last season, Kasper showed what he was capable of centring Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, scoring 37 points (19-18), and putting himself into Calder Trophy consideration.
In addition to trading Marco Kasper, they would have to attach a draft pick or two in return for Hughes, who is a former Norris Trophy winner.
Either way, the Red Wings won’t escape this trade without moving some younger assets or draft picks to acquire a top defenceman in the league. 

OK, now on to actual hockey and not gossip. The excellent Chris Faber from the Canucks official website has some notes for tonight’s game.

Monday’s game is the third game of a season-long six-game road trip for the Red Wings. They began the journey in Columbus with a 6-5 shootout loss and then followed that up with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
Detroit has five power play goals in their last three games. Their power play ranks seventh in the league, clicking at 24.5 per cent on the year.
Lucas Raymond has two power play goals in his last three games and has 19 points (6g-13a) in his previous 14 games. Raymond is tied for 19th in points this season with 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 27 games played.
It has been a relatively even split between the pipes this season, with Cam Talbot starting 14 games and John Gibson starting 15 so far this season.
Moritz Seider leads the Red Wings’ defence corps and is tied with Quinn Hughes for 10th in defenceman scoring with 22 points. Seider averages 25:03 of ice time per game.
The Wings are 9-3-1 when scoring the opening goal of the game.
They are 11-1-1 when leading at the second intermission.

Check back for more Canucks news throughout the day …