It was meant to be a joke — or so Jim Rutherford says.
But Vancouver Canucks fans weren’t laughing.
In a recent appearance on the 100% Hockey podcast, Rutherford, the Canucks’ president of hockey operations, floated the idea of acquiring Jack and Luke Hughes to play with their brother, Vancouver’s star defenceman Quinn Hughes. While clearly tongue-in-cheek, the humor didn’t land — and not just because of the NHL’s recent warnings about tampering.
What followed, however, was far more telling. Rutherford not only leaned into fan speculation that Quinn might one day want to play alongside his brothers in New Jersey but also casually discussed the possibility of trading him — the team’s captain and undisputed franchise cornerstone — if contract negotiations don’t go the team’s way two years from now.
“If we get to that trade deadline two years from now and it looks like he doesn’t want to stay,” said Rutherford, “then we would have to do something at that point.”
On the surface, it’s a rational take. The Canucks control Hughes’ contract for two more years, and any responsible front office would need to have contingency plans. But when you’re the architect of a struggling franchise that’s been to the playoffs only twice in the last decade, mentioning a trade involving your captain — no matter how speculative — sends a message that resonates far deeper than a podcast soundbite.
The Wrong Message at the Wrong Time
Vancouver is still reeling from a lost 2023-24 season that spiraled into dysfunction after brief hope the year prior. Fan favorites are being traded, the team is again on shaky competitive ground, and now the president of hockey ops is planting seeds of doubt about the long-term future of its best player.
Even more troubling is that Rutherford admitted the idea of Hughes leaving to play with his brothers wasn’t based on anything Quinn has told him. “That’s just been out there,” he said. “I think people assume that.”
In other words, the front office is feeding the rumor mill — not quelling it.
These aren’t just passing remarks. They shape perception. When a top executive speculates publicly about the potential departure of a superstar, it creates the impression of instability and undermines efforts to build a sustainable, winning culture. It’s the type of comment that might signal to agents and other teams that Vancouver isn’t fully confident in its ability to retain its stars.
Short-Term Thinking Has Already Cost the Canucks
What’s even more frustrating for fans is that this isn’t an isolated pattern.
The Canucks let the Brock Boeser situation drag on for years, and now look likely to lose him in free agency without return. Rick Tocchet — a Jack Adams-winning coach — wasn’t re-signed and has now departed. Vancouver has consistently hesitated to make long-term commitments when they mattered most. That lack of foresight has already cost them assets and stability.
Waiting until the 2027 trade deadline to deal Quinn Hughes, if it comes to that, would be an error in the same mold. At that point, the Canucks would be facing a painful choice: trade their captain as a pending UFA and settle for a diminished return, or risk losing him for nothing.
The prudent path — if there’s even a whisper of doubt about his willingness to stay — is to act far earlier. Letting a franchise player inch toward unrestricted free agency is how teams end up rebuilding from scratch. Again.
The Clock Is Ticking
Rutherford insists the Canucks are focused on the season ahead, not hypotheticals. “Our focus is not about what’s going to happen a year or two down the road with anybody,” he said.
But in today’s NHL, foresight is everything. Managing the salary cap, planning for extensions, and building toward a multi-year window of contention requires more than just living “day to day,” as former GM Jim Benning once infamously said.
The Canucks are in a fragile moment. They may still have a narrow window to build something real around Quinn Hughes, but the tone from the front office doesn’t inspire confidence. Whether it was a joke or not, Rutherford’s comments hint at a franchise still uncertain about its direction — and fans are right to be wary.
Because if the Canucks are still talking about what to do with Quinn Hughes two years from now, the real joke will be on them.
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