Welcome to The Hockey News - Vancouver Canucks site’s player preview series for the 2025–26 season. In these articles, we’ll preview the players who are expected to play for the Canucks in the 2025–26 season. Let’s start this series off with none other than the Canucks’ MVP for the 2024–25 season, captain Quinn Hughes.
Hughes’ 2024–25 Season
Hughes led the team in many ways during the 2024–25 season. Not only did he serve in his second season as captain, but he also led his team in points (16 goals, 60 assists in 68 games) despite missing 14 games. Even so, he was still named a finalist for the James Norris Trophy — an award he arguably could have won for the second straight season had injuries not impacted his playing time. He was also named to Team USA’s roster for the 4 Nations Faceoff, but ultimately missed the tournament due to these same ailments.
Vancouver’s captain finished the season tied with Alex Edler for the franchise lead in career points by a Canucks defenceman, and is expected to break this record as soon as the season starts. Hughes also became the third-fastest defenceman to hit 300 career assists, achieving this milestone in 376 games. Less than a month later, he broke the organization’s record for career assists by a Canucks defenceman (310 at the time), which Edler set in 925 games.
Hughes’ 2024–25 Letter Grade
In The Hockey News - Canucks site’s 2024–25 report card series, Hughes received an A+ for his efforts throughout the year. The Canucks captain has impressed in every NHL season he has played in, and 2025–26 is likely to be no different. After dealing with injuries in 2024–25, an off-season filled with rest should do wonders for Hughes. He’ll likely break the franchise record for points by a Canucks defenceman within the first few games of Vancouver’s 2025–26 season, but it may take him a couple of seasons to set a new record for goals scored by Canucks defencemen (99), as he is currently at 59.
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Hughes’ 2025–26 Predictions
Hughes has averaged over a point per game in the past two seasons, as well as tallying at least a rate of 0.73 points per game in every season he has played in. With a much healthier roster surrounding him heading into the 2025–26 season (as Elias Pettersson and Thatcher Demko are both expected to start the season healthy), Hughes could have his third consecutive season with an average of over a point per game. Since becoming captain, his goal-scoring stats have also trended upwards, with the defenceman scoring 17 in 2023–24 and 16 in 2024–25.
One important thing to note about Hughes’ 2025–26 season is the fact that he has already been named to Team USA’s roster for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. This could factor into his energy levels towards the back-half of the season and will be even more impactful if the Canucks make the postseason.
"This Franchise Cannot Afford To Lose A Guy Like Quinn Hughes": Rutherford & Allvin The Importance Of Keeping Quinn Hughes With The Vancouver Canucks
On Monday, President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford and General Manager Patrik Allvin met with the media to discuss the problematic 2024-25 season. At the end of the availability, Rutherford and Allvin were asked about Quinn Hughes and his future with the Vancouver Canucks. While Hughes is still signed for two more seasons, speculation has already started to grow that he may head elsewhere once he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Adam Kierszenblat’s Stat Prediction: 20G, 70A, 90P
Izzy Cheung’s Stat Prediction: 18G, 75A, 93P
Bold Prediction: Hughes will lead all defencemen in points at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
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