It's clear that the Vancouver Canucks are using the media to facilitate Quinn Hughes rumors

The New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks will be connected to each other as long as Quinn Hughes is on their roster and Jack and Luke Hughes are not. When the Devils got the fourth-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, it started to get the wheels turning on getting all four Hughes brothers together. Luke Hughes was likely going to fall there, giving them two of the three superstar brothers. 

That was almost five years ago, and the rumors have been persistent since then. However, they hit a fever pitch this week. 

The Canucks announced they are open for business. This season went to hell in a handbasket seemingly overnight for the Canucks. 

At the time of this writing, the Canucks have 22 standings points in 25 games, one of the few teams under hockey .500. What’s worse is the product they are giving their fans. At home, the Canucks are 3-7-1. Something is clearly taking away their focus when in Vancouver. Getting away from home is actually better for their game, which usually shows a team that’s too distracted by all the trials and tribulations happening at home. 

The biggest trial is dealing with all of these rumors. Unfortunately, this is a front office that is using attention as currency. If the Canucks are bad, but they are in the conversation, then it’s a positive. 

It’s an insane way of thinking, but it’s hard to see the conversation and think Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alvin aren’t behind a lot of it. Some of these talking points are too specific to come out of nowhere.

We already discussed the Jesper Bratt rumors, and we’ll have more on the latest insane proposal on Pucks and Pitchforks later today, but the rumors extend beyond the New Jersey Devils. 

Analysts have been working overtime to tie Quinn Hughes to other teams. We’ve heard multiple teams mentioned as destinations for Quinn Hughes, but the two most prominent teams are the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. There are clear ties there, with Quinn’s former coach, Rick Tochett, in Philly and his parents living in Michigan. 

The rumored names in return of a Quinn Hughes trade are insane and probably not layered in truth

However, the ties are starting to feel forced, and the returns are getting insane. Most think the Canucks will demand Simon Nemec at the very least from the Devils, but what if they refuse? Will other teams be willing to give up a similar asset without a commitment past next season? The rumor mill is trying to make it so. 

Dave Pagnotta is the lead writer at The Fourth Period, and he's always presented as a guy who is plugged in. We don't think this rumor came out of nowhere, but it definitely didn't come from Detroit. There's no way the Red Wings dangle Lucas Raymond, one of their star forwards who is signed to a long-term team-friendly deal, as a "starting point" for a Quinn Hughes deal.

The Canucks would sprint to the NHL offices if they could turn Quinn Hughes into Lucas Raymond. We're not saying Raymond is better than Hughes, but there's almost no way the Canucks "win" this trade on paper. Their best approach might be to trade with a team you think might eventually stink and get lucky like the Ottawa Senators did with the Erik Karlsson trade.

Thinking you're getting a Jesper Bratt or Lucas Raymond in this trade doesn't make sense. It creates another hole for both the Devils and Red Wings, and it might be one that's harder to fill than the hole the eldest Hughes brother would fill coming back. It puts both teams in a place where they are only marginally better.

It's clear there is purpose in these names being floated. It's a way to inflate the price through media pressure, but it's not working the way the Canucks probably hoped. They thought there might be pressure on the Devils and Red Wings to get this done, but instead, fanbases are fine with waiting until free agency to take their shot.