Well, duh.<\/p>\n
But the reality of the situation, in the moment at least, is that they\u2019ve got NHL contracts with different teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, he\u2019s my brother,\u201d Quinn Hughes said Wednesday morning, meeting assembled writers at the NHL Player Media Tour. \u201cWhat\u2019s he supposed to say, first of all? Like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to play with him,\u2019 you know? \u2026 I mean, we have contracts and whatnot. He\u2019s on a different team. Would it be fun to play with those guys at some point? Of course. I think if you guys have brothers, you guys would say the same thing. But we do have contracts. I\u2019m excited to be in Vancouver, and I feel like last year was a little bit of a failure. So I feel like I\u2019ve got things to do there. And I know Jack loves \u2014 he loves Jersey, and he\u2019s got stuff to do also.\u201d<\/p>\n
He wouldn\u2019t have preferred that his brother stay quiet on it, though?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t care at all,\u201d the Canucks captain said. \u201cI think that\u2019s just him being authentic, and if a fan base can\u2019t understand why he would say that, that makes no sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s be real, there\u2019s no question in my mind that the Hughes brothers, including Jack\u2019s teammate Luke in New Jersey, talk about this dream scenario of all of them playing together on one NHL team almost every single day in their group chat. Why wouldn\u2019t they? It\u2019s a natural feeling for them as brothers to want that. No one should begrudge them for that.<\/p>\n
So Jack this week simply said out loud what was already assumed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the headline question, you know?\u201d Jack smiled when I asked him about it Tuesday, also at the NHL Player Media Tour. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m not afraid to say it. Yeah, I would love for Quinn to \u2014 eventually I\u2019d love to play with him. And whether that\u2019s in New Jersey or at what time that takes, at some point, I want to play with Quinn. But yeah, that\u2019s the question going around. They talk all day about it up in Vancouver, you know? But yeah, I\u2019d love to play with Quinn at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comment dropped like a grenade in the Vancouver market, of course.<\/p>\n
Quinn Hughes\u2019 NHL future is already front and center with one of the game\u2019s most passionate fan bases. Fans are concerned they\u2019re going to lose their franchise defenseman. Normally, like Connor McDavid entering the final season of his contract in Edmonton, this kind of hysteria is saved for players with 12 months to go on their deals. That the Vancouver market is already on hyperdrive with Hughes still having two years to go on his deal is what sets this story apart.<\/p>\n
Does it surprise the Canucks captain that it\u2019s already such a big story?<\/p>\n
\u201cYes and no,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, Jack wasn\u2019t the first one to bring it up, in fairness to him. I just think that I\u2019ve been fortunate to play in Vancouver because of the fans and what a special place it is and how well you\u2019re taken care of because they love their hockey so much and care about their hockey. I think that it\u2019s normal in a Canadian market, and I feel like, especially with how much noise there was last year, people want to know what direction the team\u2019s going in. Is there a direction and whatnot, etc., etc.?<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I can understand why it\u2019s being brought up. I think if we had a terrific season last year and we were Cup contenders, I don\u2019t think, you know, I would be the noise right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Presumably, when Quinn Hughes says his brother wasn\u2019t the first to bring it up, that\u2019s a reference to Jim Rutherford, the Canucks\u2019 president of hockey operations, mentioning at this season-ending presser last year that the elephant in the room is the possibility of all three Hughes brothers wanting to play together one day.<\/p>\n
That certainly raised eyebrows. But the Hockey Hall of Fame executive wasn\u2019t saying anything that wasn\u2019t already being talked about around the league.<\/p>\n
The Canucks, of course, will do everything they can to keep their captain happy and in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hope is to keep him long term,\u201d Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told The Athletic via text message Tuesday. \u201cWe will do whatever we can to keep him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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