While the Vancouver Canucks certainly didn’t live up to the expectations they put upon themselves last season, that isn’t discouraging the captain on his outlook for this team and their future.
Quinn Hughes met with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre and shared that while it’s been a tough year for him and the team, he feels that as the leader of the team, he wears the responsibility of being a successful team:
“This team named me captain, and I feel obligated to be a successful team here. That weighs heavily on me; I want to do something here.
The Canucks captain added that although this year has been tough, he wants to put himself and the team in a position where they can be a successful team and ultimately win a Stanley Cup. Hughes showed appreciation for the fans and mentioned that he often thinks about how Vancouver has not seen a Stanley Cup yet.
The former first-round pick is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-2027 season. There has been much speculation about what his future holds this season, considering the team’s downfall from last year. While neither Hughes nor his representatives have spoken on what his future holds in Vancouver, comments like these provide some sort of insight into his thought process on the situation.
After the Canucks’ 4-3 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils, Hughes said this in an interview with TNT:
“Honestly, this has been the longest year ever. It’s been a year of adversity. Guys in and out [of the lineup], no one has played a full season. Definitely a lot of adversity, but really proud of our group. We’ve got a lot of care. We’re going to do everything we can to make the playoffs here, and I believe we can. But if that doesn’t happen, what we’re building here for the next couple years, just the care factor, I’m liking what I’m seeing.”
The former first-round pick has led the team through the challenges of this season. Despite missing 14 games with various injuries, Hughes still leads the team in points (74), while averaging 25:40 minutes per game, eclipsing 30 minutes in four games this season.
Now that the Canucks are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the focus for Quinn Hughes will be to finish the season strong, hoping to have something to build off of heading into the 2025-2026 campaign.
