The New Jersey Devils are back in the Quinn Hughes conversation again. It makes sense. The Devils have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and the Vancouver Canucks are struggling. The Devils have the most points in the East after gaining a last-minute point against the New York Islanders on Monday night. The Canucks are fourth from last in the West (although they are one point from a playoff spot).
Let’s talk about some of the facts that have slightly changed since the last time we talked about a Quinn Hughes trade possibility. For one, we know the standings. The Canucks are in a crazy race for the last playoff spot, despite it only being November. The standings are telling the story for Vancouver. They are playing like a .500 team.
On top of that, the eldest Hughes brother has been mediocre to start the year. He has 10 points in 13 games, and he has been collecting points as of late, but he’s a -2 and six of his points have come on the power play. At 5v5, he has no goals and just two assists. He also has zero individual high-danger chances.
Nobody is trading Quinn Hughes because he’s had a slightly slower start, but if there’s a reason behind his start, then that changes the conversation.
The Canucks have essentially this year to convince Hughes to stay put and remain as the captain in Vancouver. He openly talked about how his brother and Devils star Jack Hughes mentioned wanting to have everyone in his family play on one team. This came after Canucks president Jim Rutherford mentioned Quinn wanting to play with his brothers in the media.
This was a self-inflicted firestorm for the Canucks, and Jack Hughes put fuel on the fire. The one saving grace for Vancouver was the long, arduous contract negotiation for Luke Hughes, but his signing a seven-year deal ruined the narrative north of the border.
So, a trade remains on the table. The most likely destination is the Devils. The easiest way forward is figuring out the price.
Despite the situation, the Canucks can still make demands. However, their demands are somewhat muted. If Quinn Hughes tells the Canucks he wants out and he prefers to go to the Devils, the Canucks have limited routes forward. If they deny his demands, it will likely cause a media firestorm. Eh, anything to do with a Quinn Hughes trade will cause a firestorm.
The Canucks will try to go for a best-case scenario in a bad spot, which is what the narrative was surrounding the Matthew Tkachuk trade between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers. The Panthers sent the Flames Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weager for Tkachuk.
And that brings us to today’s conversation. A recent trade video by Bardown talked about fake trades, including multiple trades involving the Devils and Canucks. All three were insane overpays by the Devils, considering the circumstances.
The Canucks cannot get Jesper Bratt in a Quinn Hughes trade
The first trade proposal was categorically insane, asking for Jesper Bratt, Simon Nemec, Dawson Mercer, a 2026 first-round pick, and a second-round pick. Some believe the Canucks can get five or six pieces in a Quinn Hughes trade. That makes sense, but it would look closer to the Timo Meier trade.
The Devils have up one NHL player, and he was a bottom-six player, one high-level prospect, maybe Anton Silayev in this case, a throw-in NHL player (Ondrej Palat?), a mid-level prospect (maybe Conrad Fondrk), and three draft picks, including a first- and second-round pick. It’s another big price, but it gives the Canucks multiple shots at this. If the bottom-six player is Paul Cotter or Zack MacEwen, it gives the Canucks something for this year, but it’s not really the right fit.
The other option was simply Jesper Bratt and Simon Nemec. It’s still just too much.
The value might make sense on paper. A top-15 winger and a high-upside defenseman for the second-best defenseman in the league makes sense. However, it makes little sense for the Devils right now. They NEED top-six players, and Jesper Bratt is their most consistent winger. Losing him to add a defenseman would take one of their most important players and replace him with a luxury.
Don’t get us wrong; Hughes is a luxury to the highest degree, but it’s still a luxury that makes their weakness weaker.
Who would play next to Jack Hughes if Bratt is traded? We’re literally drawing a blank on how that would work.
The Devils can’t afford to trade Jesper Bratt. And honestly, they don’t need to. They would just wait for Quinn Hughes to hit free agency before they moved their best winger. It’s a pipe dream. Honestly, it’s even more than that. It makes no sense for the Devils to move Jesper Bratt in any move, especially one where they appear to hold all the leverage.