{"id":336980,"date":"2025-12-10T14:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T14:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/336980\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T14:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T14:41:09","slug":"nhl-rumor-mill-december-10-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/336980\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumor Mill \u2013 December 10, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check out the latest Quinn Hughes<\/a> speculation in today\u2019s NHL Rumor Mill.<\/p>\n

SPORTSNET<\/a>: Nick Kypreos reports the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> and New Jersey Devils<\/a> have had contact regarding Quinn Hughes<\/a> going back to last summer, but he wonders how far they are in actual trade talks.<\/p>\n

Kypreos claimed New Jersey defenseman Simon Nemec<\/a> is \u201cout there\u201d, along with center Dawson Mercer<\/a>, and any of the Devils\u2019 first-round draft picks over the next three years have to be in play.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes (NHL Images).<\/p>\n

According to Kypreos, the Canucks believe there are teams open to the idea of acquiring Hughes without any assurances of signing him to a contract extension once his current deal expires in 2027. He wondered if the Detroit Red Wings<\/a>, Anaheim Ducks<\/a>, Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>, and San Jose Sharks<\/a> might get involved in the bidding.<\/p>\n

The Canucks seek four or five pieces for Hughes, including roster players, prospects, and draft picks. They want the first-round picks to be unprotected.<\/p>\n

DAILY FACEOFF<\/a>: Jeff Marek wondered if Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman would attempt to make a major move by acquiring Hughes.<\/p>\n

Marek noted that Yzerman has a reputation for being patient, but pointed out that they have lots of salary cap space and won\u2019t have a franchise player to spend it on in next summer\u2019s unrestricted free-agent market. He argued that it might be time for Yzerman to start drawing on some of his promising prospects as trade bait to add an impact player now.<\/p>\n

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW<\/a>: James Nichols noted the Devils aren\u2019t believed to be the only team to have called the Canucks about Hughes. He noted the Detroit Red Wings<\/a>, Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>, New York Rangers<\/a>, and Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> have also been linked to the superstar defenseman.<\/p>\n

Nichols considers the Red Wings as the only real threat to the Devils\u2019 chances of landing Hughes. He noted that they have more assets to tempt the Canucks, including at center with Marco Kasper<\/a> and Nate Danielson<\/a> as players of potential interest.<\/p>\n

However, Nichols questioned whether the Wings and other clubs would trade away assets if Hughes isn\u2019t interested in signing an extension with them. He pointed out that the opportunity for Hughes to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke, in New Jersey gives the Devils an edge.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: According to Kypreos, some teams might not have an issue with trading away assets to get Hughes as a two-year playoff rental. Nevertheless, Nichols makes a good point that not everyone will want to give up a king\u2019s ransom for a player they\u2019ll lose to free agency in 2027.<\/p>\n

The Red Wings have another advantage over the Devils, and that is in salary-cap space.<\/p>\n

For this season, the Wings currently have over $17 million in available cap space, while the Devils are pressed for cap room. If the Devils intend to acquire Hughes this season, they must shed considerable salary to make room for his $7.85 million average annual value<\/p>\n

For 2026-27, the final season of Hughes\u2019 contract, the Red Wings have a projected $41.8 million, while the Devils have $10.35 million. Even if we factor in the cost of re-signing players, the Wings would still have a significant edge.<\/p>\n

For the 2027-28 season, the Devils have over $47 million, but we can expect that number to drop significantly by next season as players are re-signed and new ones are added via trades and free agency. The same applies to the Red Wings and their projected $77.2 million, but even then, they still have the advantage.<\/p>\n

Hughes could accept a trade to another club like the Wings, decline to sign an extension, and hit the UFA market in 2027. However, the Devils must still clear considerable cap space if they want to reunite Quinn with Jack and Luke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Check out the latest Quinn Hughes speculation in today\u2019s NHL Rumor Mill. SPORTSNET: Nick Kypreos reports the Vancouver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-336980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}