Canucks Knew Hughes Wanted Out, Confirm Devils Made Brutal Trade Offer

Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford, spoke with the media after the players did on Friday. As is often the case, he wasn’t shy about saying what was on his mind or carefully choosing his words. During his avail, he dropped several news items that came as a surprise. Among them was that he knew Quinn Hughes wanted out before the season started and that he got a low-ball offer from the New Jersey Devils.

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“We started the season with hope that it would be a playoff team. I think at that point in time, it had a chance. If I remember right, we started off maybe 4-2 or 5-3 or something. At that time, Demko was healthy, Chytil was healthy — they both went down at the same time.”

He added, “We started the season already knowing that we should strengthen our center ice. Patrik worked every day, making calls, trying to make a deal for a centreman, and it was never there. Were there deals he could have made? Maybe — but it would have been a very high price, and we’d be sitting here today wishing we didn’t do it.”

“I believe he made the right choice by not making the ones people were willing to offer, like giving up first-round picks or things like that. So that hope was there, but it started to fade.”

Then Came the Quinn Hughes Trade

Rutherford noted that the team reached the point where they had to make a decision on Quinn Hughes. “I’ve known for some time that Quinn was not staying in Vancouver — I’ve known since before this season started, for that matter. It’s one of the reasons why we signed guys like Garland, Boeser, and Demko — players who had relationships with him — hoping for a little bit of a chance, right down to the end, that he would decide to stay here. But I don’t think that was ever in the cards.”

By saying the Canucks wanted to change the leverage position in a deal, they became the aggressor in trade discussions. “So, knowing what he was thinking and what he was going to do, instead of waiting until the offseason and probably getting a first-round pick from the New Jersey Devils, we accelerated things while the Canucks had the leverage.”

He added, “There were a few teams involved, and we got it to the point where we could make the best deal possible.”

Ultimately, the Canucks traded Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for much more than a first-round pick. They received forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren, defenseman Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first-round pick.

Next: Canucks’ Rutherford Makes Admission On Hughes and Pettersson Trades