NHL Insider Jeff Marek suggested that the Detroit Red Wings make sense as a landing spot for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has multiple local ties to the area.
The rumors linking Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, one of the best players at his position in the NHL and already the best defenseman in their club's history, to the Detroit Red Wings just won't go away.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
As the Canucks appear to be entering the first phases of what could prove to be a complete teardown, Hughes has been one of the most talked-about names on the Vancouver roster that could soon find himself on the move.
A trade of Hughes out of Vancouver, who at just 26 years of age is already a Norris Trophy winner and the highest scoring defenseman in Canucks history, would represent a seismic shift in the direction of the franchise.
For many, the first and most obvious destination for Hughes to land would be the New Jersey Devils. Considering that his brothers Jake and Luke play for the Devils, the family connection could prove too strong to turn down.
However, given that Hughes played at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor while also having previously played for the Plymouth-based U.S. National Development Program, there is a natural connection for him to the Red Wings.
During a recent segment of The Sheet with Jeff Marek, the eponymous host openly speculated about the potential lure of Detroit for Hughes given his many ties to the area.
“I wonder about the Red Wings with Quinn Hughes, and one of the reasons is the family is there in the off-season, that’s where the family makes their home, but I also wondered from the Red Wings point of view, with the free agent class being what it is in the off-season where we thought there would be superstar names, it’s not happening,” Marek explained.
“Is it not incumbent on the Detroit Red Wings, perhaps, to look at their roster and say, 'You know what? It’s time we started getting out of the green banana business here, and we love all these young players, but we need a superstar and we may have to divorce ourselves from some of these young players," he continued.
Fellow Insider David Pagnotta, who was a guest with Marek, agreed that Detroit would make sense as a landing spot for Hughes if he were to be dealt.
"Detroit makes a lot of sense, I like that," he said.
As Red Wings fans are well aware, they had the chance to land Hughes at the 2018 NHL Draft, but they instead selected Filip Zadina, who never panned out with Detroit and is now playing overseas. At the same time, Hughes, whom the Canucks selected one pick after the Red Wings chose Zadina, quickly became one of the best players at his position in the NHL.
The kind of trade package that the Canucks would want in return for Hughes from the Red Wings wouldn't be inexpensive, as they'd likely not only want an established NHL player but potentially even multiple prospects.
The Red Wings have no shortage of blue-chip prospects in their farm system, which has become one of the more highly regarded prospect pools in the NHL since Steve Yzerman returned as general manager in 2019.
While Yzerman hasn’t indicated any deviation from his stated plan of drafting and developing, parting with one or more of those prospects in exchange for an established star at a position of need could prove too tempting to pass up.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.