‘Felt Like I Gave It My All’: Quinn Hughes Reflects On Time With The Canucks Ahead Of Return To Vancouver

Quinn Hughes remembers his time in Vancouver fondly. 

The defenceman, who was drafted seventh-overall by the Canucks back in 2018, makes his return to the city he spent six and a half seasons playing for on Sunday night. This marks his first occasion playing in Vancouver, in front of their fans, since being traded to the Minnesota Wild on December 12, 2025. 

In his time as a Canuck, Hughes piled record on record atop one-another as one of the franchise’s most offensively-dynamic defencemen. He currently holds the franchise’s record for assists (371) and points (432) by a Canucks defenceman among many other accolades, including a James Norris Trophy win in 2023–24. In his final three seasons with Vancouver, he served as the team’s captain. 

For him, taking to the ice at Rogers Arena on Sunday will remind him of mostly good memories. 

“I was really lucky to start my career there, and just being [in] a Canadian market was a really special thing for me, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” he told reporters in Seattle on Saturday. “Six and a half years there, a lot of the reasons I’m the person I am and the player I am is because of the experiences I had in Vancouver, and the organization was always amazing with me starting with ownership and Jim Rutherford, Jim Benning, all the coaches I’ve had there, my teammates. A lot of people there allowed me to flourish and grow, and however I’m going to be received tomorrow, [I’ll] always look back and be grateful and appreciative of the experiences I have. 

“It kind of just feels like you’re playing for the Yankees,” he added. “The passion in Canada, you don’t see that everywhere around the league, and especially in Vancouver, there’s no NBA, there’s no NFL, there’s nothing like that [...] in Vancouver, it’s just the Canucks, and that’s a special thing, and definitely brings its highs and its lows, obviously, with so many eyes on you. But for the most part, I really enjoyed that, and just going to the game and feeling the buzz in the city, knowing that’s the only thing going on in the city that night.” 

For Hughes, the return to Vancouver strikes up primarily good memories. For the fans, the return of their ex-captain comes as a toss-up. 

Speculation surrounding his future in Vancouver made things even murkier as the twilight of Hughes’ time with the Canucks drew to a close. An un-inspired level of play towards the end of his tenure added to that — not to mention locker room conflicts that took place under his captaincy that raised questions about what truly went on with the team behind the scenes. 

When Brady Tkachuk returned to Ottawa to face the Senators for the first time since his trade to the Florida Panthers, the home crowd let their ex-captain hear their displeasure. Boos, chants, jerseys thrown on the ice — Ottawa gave the younger Tkachuk brother virtually every last ounce of their anger. 

Hughes doesn’t know if he’ll get the same treatment or not. Whether he does or not isn’t something he’s wasting too much of his focus on. 

“I feel like at this point, a little bit of that’s out of my control. I play for the Wild now, and how I’m remembered is how I’m going to be remembered. Felt like I gave it my all, played some really good hockey there, and that’s what I’d say about that.” 

Vancouver’s Sunday-night matchup with the Wild will likely be the final time that Hughes’ name circulates around local media as often as it has. Both the player, the organization, and even some fans seem to have moved on. Players’ first-games back in front of a crowd that they’ve played in front of for the better half of their careers typically come with their fair share of fanfare. 

Tonight, Minnesota takes on the Seattle Kraken. Tomorrow, Hughes faces a former team — and fanbase — that will welcome him the way they welcome him. 

“I don’t know what to expect too much tomorrow, but [I’ll] face that when it comes,” he said. “Whether I’m booed or whatnot, that won’t change how I feel about that place and how grateful I am for the experiences I’ve had there.” 

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