When all talk should be on the New Jersey Devils attempting to even their Stanley Cup Playoffs series with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Vancouver Canucks decided to take over the headlines.
Canucks president Jim Rutherford came out and said the team could bring Jack and Luke Hughes to Vancouver to keep Quinn Hughes in a Canucks sweater. He just said it. In public. On camera. That feels like as close to lockdown evidence of tampering we've ever seen. He is talking about two players who are on a team currently playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and talking about how a future plan of execution for their team is adding them.
The punishment for tampering is hefty. The fines against the teams can be as much as $5 million. The league could also strip draft picks from the offending team. What's interesting about this rule is that the team that's the victim of the tampering could be awarded these picks.
Yet, the NHL is going to let this one go, according to reports. Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic says the league isn't going to look into this further.
I have been told the NHL is not looking at any tampering charges against the #Canucks regarding Jim Rutherford's comments yesterday about the Hughes brothers in New Jersey.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) April 22, 2025
The NHL has a double standard when it comes to the New Jersey Devils
The Devils have been on the wrong end of punishment from the NHL. Some of the more famous examples include having to go to court so their head coach could remain on the bench in the playoffs, losing a first-round pick because of a legal contract they signed and then re-worked to appease the league, and the penalty that changed the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.
Maybe we're comparing apples and oranges here, but it is just ironic what other teams can get away with while the Devils seem to face punishment for everything. Heck, just last week, Paul Cotter clearly made a mistake and hit Adam Pelech in the head. He had no intent and showed immediate remorse, but he was still suspended for two games despite having no history. How many times were Tom Wilson, Brad Marchand, and Matt Rempe given lesser sentences than what seemed appropriate?
And now this. The Canucks so brazenly said out loud that they know Quinn Hughes wants to play with his brothers, and they are willing to make that happen in Vancouver. That's talking directly about a player under contract on another team. Yet, the league doesn't seem to care. Hopefully, they keep that same energy when Jack Hughes goads his brother to push for a trade this offseason.