The Vancouver Canucks always find a way to throw a wrench into the rumor mill. For half of this season, the beef between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson took over headlines. It lasted until the Canucks finally sent Miller to the New York Rangers. Now, there's a ton of smoke around the Canucks and Quinn Hughes.
To pivot from the noise, Canucks President of Hockey Operations said instead of losing Quinn Hughes to the New Jersey Devils, he could target Jack and Luke Hughes to bring the brothers together in Vancouver.
The comments immediately drew headlines, and Canucks fans were loving seeing the shoe on the other foot after rumors about their captain's future and his "inevitable" treck to New Jersey. If the brothers want to get together, maybe the Canucks could make an insane trade offer that works. However, it's extremely unlikely.
Still, it didn't stop fans from worrying about what comes next. Jack Hughes is signed with the Devils until 2030. The Canucks can't do anything to change that without the Devils' consent. That has some fans looking at Luke Hughes. His contract ends this offseason, and it will be a priority for the Devils to re-sign him for the long haul.
However, some fans are worried about another team, mainly the Canucks, giving him an offer sheet. Could the Canucks really put the Devils in that position with Hughes having no deal in place after this season?
The short answer is no.
Luke Hughes is not eligible for an offer sheet this offseason
As Puck Pedia reports, Hughes isn't even "technically" a restricted free agent. He's what's known as a "10.2.c" player. In the most basic terms, since the Devils burned that first year of Hughes's contract in 2023, and the fact that he didn't hit 10 games played, he's not eligible for the offer sheet.
The Devils are lucky this is a non-issue. It would throw a wrench into their plans. They likely want to get this deal done sooner rather than later so they can plan the rest of their offseason expenditures, but if they need to play hardball, they can. To sign Hughes to an eight-year deal would likely keep Jack Hughes in New Jersey beyond his current deal, and it could mean bringing all three brothers together when Quinn Hughes becomes a free agent in 2027.