Elliotte Friedman reveals when Quinn Hughes informed Vancouver Canucks he wouldn't sign contract extension
Photo credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman revealed on Saturday night when former captain Quinn Hughes informed the Vancouver Canucks he wouldn't sign a contract extension.
After a difficult start to the 2025-26 season, it certainly felt like some big changes were coming in Vancouver both on and off the ice and it began on Friday night when the Canucks traded away captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, along with a first round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Quinn Hughes' future with the Vancouver Canucks organization was talked about quite a bit going back to April when Jim Rutherford, the team's President of Hockey Operations, said that the blueliner wants to play with his brothers Jack and Luke of the New Jersey Devils at some point in his career.
While that never came to fruition, mainly because of New Jersey's cap situation and having a hard time trying to move money out, the Minnesota Wild appear to be a good fit for Quinn Hughes and on Saturday, we officially found out when the Orlando native informed Vancouver's management he wouldn't be signing long-term, putting in motion plans to get a trade done before the holiday roster freeze.
Insider reveals when Quinn Hughes told Vancouver Canucks he wouldn't be signing an extension
During the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared that Quinn Hughes approached the Vancouver Canucks around American Thanksgiving to say that he was probably not going to sign a contract extension with the club.
"One of the things that everybody kind of wondered about was what was the behind the scenes of this play? There's been a lot of speculation, myself too, about what Hughes said to the Canucks and when about the future and also, the Canucks have openly speculated that Hughes would want to play with his brothers, so what did they know?" Friedman said.
He added, "The best information I could get in the aftermath of this shocking trade, which Martine Gaillard reminded me last night I never saw coming, is that he [Hughes] informed them I believe right before U.S. Thanksgiving, like around that time, as the Canucks were losing, he was really having trouble dealing with it. If you're a Canucks fan you saw it, if Canuck watcher you saw it. He was really struggling with the losing. It was right around that time before U.S. Thanksgiving that the Canucks were informed he would not be signing an extension with them this summer."
He added, "The best information I could get in the aftermath of this shocking trade, which Martine Gaillard reminded me last night I never saw coming, is that he [Hughes] informed them I believe right before U.S. Thanksgiving, like around that time, as the Canucks were losing, he was really having trouble dealing with it. If you're a Canucks fan you saw it, if Canuck watcher you saw it. He was really struggling with the losing. It was right around that time before U.S. Thanksgiving that the Canucks were informed he would not be signing an extension with them this summer."
Given the circumstances, the Vancouver Canucks did quite well with the return they got from the Minnesota Wild and it showed on Sunday as the trio of players made their debut against the New Jersey Devils, with Zeev Buium picking up a pair of points, including a goal, in the first period.
There's no question that Friday was one of the darkest days in the history of the Vancouver Canucks, but everyone is hoping that this young core Patrik Allvin & Jim Rutherford have will be able to turn the organization into a contender in the years to come.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 14|2416 ANSWERS Elliotte Friedman reveals when Quinn Hughes informed Vancouver Canucks he wouldn't sign contract extension Do you think the Vancouver Canucks did the best they could with the Quinn Hughes trade given the circumstances? | ||
| Yes | 2148 | 88.9 % |
| No | 268 | 11.1 % |
| List of polls | ||