The New Jersey Devils have been decimated by injuries this season, and the icing on the cake was when Jack Hughes injured his hand at a restaurant. The Devils have struggled, and their head coach said as much during their last loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. They played much better against the Detroit Red Wings, but most believe they were lucky to get out of there with two points in the standings.
The struggles have Devils fans asking who might be available for trades. Nashville has been dreadful to start the season, so everyone is on the table there. While they’d like to offload the Steven Stamkos contract, Ryan O’Reilly would be more appealing for the Devils with their salary cap situation and understanding that Jack Hughes is coming back eventually. A few players on the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames could make sense, as well.
However, the one player that the Devils fanbase will continue to circle around is Quinn Hughes. It’s not a big surprise as to why. It seems almost a formality that Jack and Luke Hughes will one day join forces with their brother. Jack Hughes has four more years on his contract after this season, and the ink on Luke Hughes’s seven-year deal is still wet.
That says that it’s going to be hard to connect the brothers outside of New Jersey. Quinn Hughes to New Jersey seems like a formality.
With the Vancouver Canucks struggling to start the season and the New Jersey Devils being at the top of the standings, many think the Quinn Hughes deal could happen sooner than we think.
Yet, a new report from Elliotte Friedman puts cold water on that hope.
"They’ve made it clear (trading Quinn) is not their priority right now."NHL Executive via Elliotte Friedman
The report on Sportsnet says that the Canucks are listening to trade offers on veteran players, but Quinn Hughes is not one of them.
The Canucks made moves this offseason to be a competitive team, but it hasn’t worked out. They are 9-12-2 right now, down with the Blues, Predators, and Flames at the bottom of the standings. Whatever the Canucks hoped this season would be, it’s going in the wrong direction.
Trading veterans might be the first step, but we can’t see them trading Quinn Hughes in haste. Even if the Devils sent them an insane move, Canucks president Jim Rutherford would still shop him around. Hughes has two playoff runs on his current contract, so teams are still willing to overpay for his services.
It’s going to be a long process getting Quinn Hughes to Newark, if it ever happens.