Maple Leafs Pitched to Part With Big Package for Quinn Hughes

Quinn Hughes is the number one talking point around the hockey world, and as long as the Vancouver Canucks are at the bottom of the NHL standings, that’s going to continue and, quite frankly, only get louder. 

The Canucks might say they’re listening on all veteran players other than Hughes right now, but who’s kidding whom? They have to be scouring the market to determine what the best possible return they can get for their captain is.

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Everyone expects the superstar defenseman to join his brothers Jack and Luke in New Jersey come free agency of 2027 at the latest, but that won’t stop other teams from attempting to trade for the year and a half of Hughes before that. 

It’s extremely rare for a player of his caliber to become available, so every single team in the league has to consider whether the acquisition cost to land Hughes would make sense for their franchise. That includes the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are just trying to keep their season alive at this point, and while now might not be the time to make such a move, TSN analyst Bryan Hayes believes that if they were in contention, parting with Matthew Knies and more would be well worth it.

Hayes said:

“Let’s say the Leafs are really rocking right now, and it’s going to cost you Matthew Knies, I’m doing it, that’s what I’m telling you. I’m doing that, plus the picks and the prospects, like, that’s how good Quinn Hughes is.”

The 26-year-old is in the fifth season of the six-year, $47.1 million extension he signed with the Canucks back in 2021. He’s been highly productive when healthy in 2025-26, tallying 21 points (two goals, 19 assists) in just 18 games played.

Quinn Hughes Actually Makes a Lot of Sense for the Maple Leafs

Most wouldn’t think it’s smart for a team sitting last in the Eastern Conference to mortgage the future for a player that helps them win now and in the year to follow, but Toronto is a different story.

The Maple Leafs’ window to win is now with Auston Matthews and William Nylander in their prime, and John Tavares still providing elite production. The first 22 games of 2025-26 haven’t gone according to plan, but this just isn’t going to turn into a rebuild; there’s too much high-end talent and good veteran players to stay down much longer.

If you were to draw up the perfect player to add to this roster, it might honestly be Hughes, one of, if not the best, defenseman in the world, who is a tremendous skater, moves the puck with ease, and is just a dynamic threat from the blue line.

That is exactly what the Maple Leafs don’t have, and at this stage of Hughes’ career, winning is the priority, and while it’s not pretty right now, joining the likes of Matthews and Nylander on a perennial playoff team looking to get over the hump would be quite the opportunity.

Stranger things have happened, so if Brad Treliving is serious about making big changes to his roster in order to get this season back on the rails and compete for a Stanley Cup, then pursuing Hughes has to be something he looks hard into.

Next: Top Draft Prospect Sounds Exactly Like What the Maple Leafs Need