Do Quinn Hughes’ Comments Reinforce That He Wanted to Be a Red Wing?

With all the focus and hoopla surrounding Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, along with the star power of captain Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel, it’s been Quinn Hughes — the quiet superstar — who’s led the charge for Team USA at the Olympics so far, and honestly, that’s exactly what we should have expected.

Six points (one goal, five assists) in four games while handling a massive workload, and of course coming through in the clutch with an overtime snipe past Jacob Markstrom on Wednesday to send the Americans to the semifinals.

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It was Hughes’ second point of the night, having set up Dylan Larkin’s tip-in goal in the second period, and when asked about that connection postgame, he couldn’t speak highly enough of the Detroit Red Wings captain.

Hughes said:

“Lark’s has been like a little bit of an older brother and mentor since I’ve known him. The first time I met him was at a frat party in Michigan when I was a freshman. But he was awesome. So, I was 17, he must’ve been 20. But yeah, just a tremendous player, tremendous person, and a really close friend. I mean, I think I just follow from what a big heart Larks has and, you know, he always tells me to pay it forward, and I think that’s a great message.”

Strong praise for his American teammate — and especially interesting given that many reports suggested Hughes had his eye on the Red Wings back when he was at the center of major trade speculation.

Quinn Hughes Wanted Detroit

Before Hughes was shockingly sent to Minnesota in the blockbuster deal from Vancouver, there were two landing spots the hockey world viewed as frontrunners: the New Jersey Devils — to join brothers Jack and Luke — and not far behind, the Red Wings, given Hughes went to the University of Michigan and has other family ties to the area.

The 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner wanted Detroit, but GM Steve Yzerman wasn’t willing to part with such a massive haul of young players, draft picks, and prospects without confirmation of a contract extension, which ultimately put a wrench in those plans.

While that’s understandable in most situations, when a player of Hughes’ caliber becomes available, and you have any inkling he’d have interest in playing for your team, normal logic tends to go out the window — you push all your chips in to land him.

Perhaps Yzerman is still of the belief that Hughes might hit the market again as a free agent next summer, when he wouldn’t be forced to part with any assets. That said, he seems to be enjoying life in Minnesota, playing a major role on a true Cup contender alongside stars like Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber.

Until he puts pen to paper on an extension with the Wild, hope isn’t completely lost for Detroit. However, you never want to rely on a situation so far out of your control, and the Red Wings had the chance to bring Hughes to Motown — but passed, a decision that could come back to haunt them when all is said and done.

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