As the hype and buzz regarding the Red Wings pursuing Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes percolates around the NHL, the Vancouver Province’s Ben Kuzma provides a reality check in terms of what the Canucks’ asking price might include:
He doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so the successful bidder needs assurance he’s not just a one-year lease before hitting free agency. That’s where ties will play a prominent role.
There are his formative years in Michigan with the U.S. National Team Development Program and the NCAA Wolverines. It’s also where he has a home. And at age 18, Hughes was the youngest player in the 2018 world hockey championship and looked like a veteran as the U.S. claimed bronze.
Long-serving Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was his world championship teammate and roommate. They’ve also trained together and formed a lasting and respectful bond. And Hughes has long admired Detroit winger Patrick Kane.
The Canucks could push for first-line right-winger Lucas Raymond, 23, second-pairing rookie defenceman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, 20, first year third-line centre Nate Danielson, 21, plus a 2026 first-round draft pick. Raymond, Sandin-Pellikka and Danielson are first-round picks.
Raymond had 80 points (27-53) last season, and would be a vital addition if Kiefer Sherwood, and possibly Conor Garland, are traded. Sandin-Pellikka projects as a power play quarterback, and Danielson needs to develop a complete game at the NHL level.
Continued; I’m fairly certain that Canucks GM Jim Rutherford WOULD ask for either one of Lucas Raymond or Moritz Seider, a top prospect like ASP or Danielson, and a 1st round pick as compensation for Hughes…
And that’s why this is not going to happen.
I don’t see how they can command so much for a player who is only guaranteed for 1.5 years. Is it against the rules to talk contract extension prior to July 1?
Agreed, George. The ask is not inappropriate, but as the poster above notes, you’re buying 1.5 years of Quinn Hughes. If the ask were a non-Seider/Raymond roster player + a top prospect + a first, I’d do that in a heartbeat, even if it meant giving up Edvinsson.
I don’t know that I’d trade Seider for Hughes straight up, never mind tossing in other prospects. Seider’s been an iron man, and his counting stats are starting to jump off the page. Hughes is a guy we could’ve and should’ve drafted in the first place, a disastrous whiff by the outgoing Holland regime. Ah well…