The Vancouver Canucks captain showed it again at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour, dealing with the latest headlines and reiterating his commitment to helping Vancouver return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This story goes back to April 21, when Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said the team would do everything it could to keep Hughes but, “he’s said before he wants to play with his brothers.”
Hughes has two seasons left on his contract and isn’t eligible to sign another one until July 1, 2026. But his future already is an issue with his brothers, Jack and Luke, playing for the New Jersey Devils.
When Jack Hughes sat down with a group of reporters Tuesday, the subject came up.
“Honestly, I’m not afraid to say it,” Jack told the group, according to The Athletic. “Yeah, I would love for Quinn to … eventually, I’d love to play with him. And whether that’s in New Jersey or at what time that takes, at some point, I want to play with Quinn. But yeah, that’s the question going around. They talk all day about it up in Vancouver, you know?”
That cranked up the volume even more.
When Quinn did a series of interviews Wednesday, he had to address it multiple times.
“Jack didn’t bring it up, obviously, and I think that’s the normal response,” Quinn told NHL.com. “He’s not going to say he doesn’t want to play with me. We’re very, very close, so it’d be really fun to play with him at some point. But he absolutely loves Jersey, and I’m doing my thing in Vancouver.”
Keep this in mind: The Canucks named Quinn captain almost exactly two years ago, on Sept. 11, 2023, at age 23. He has taken it seriously ever since.
“It meant a lot when Jim gave me the keys to the team pretty much, to the city, a couple years ago,” Quinn said. “He’s got a lot of belief in me, and thank him for that, and so I just want to repay that.”
The noise was deafening last season. The Canucks sustained several injuries, and a rift between centers Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller led to Miller being traded to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31. Vancouver missed the playoffs.
