After the Vancouver Canucks sent out a memo informing teams that they’ve made their veterans – not Quinn Hughes, at this point – available for trade, Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford have received plenty of phone calls. And despite sharing Hughes was not available, that didn’t stop at least one team from calling Vancouver about their captain.

On his Saturday Headlines segment during the second intermission, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was speaking about the New Jersey Devils being the busiest team searching around the trade market over the last week. Friedman shared that the Devils have gone as far as to check in with the Canucks on Quinn Hughes:

“Once Vancouver announced that they were open for business, [and] sent that email around to the league, I do believe there was a conversation – at least one – between the Devils and the Canucks about Quinn Hughes. And I stress, I do not believe there is anything imminent. I don’t even know that they’re anywhere far along, but I do believe that conversation was had about where things stand and where they might be going.

“Now, also, it should be mentioned with the Devils, because of their injury and cap situation, they’re dollar in, dollar out. So if they’re bringing in somebody, they’re going to have to remove people. And I think that’s why there’s so much time around the Devils; they got a lot going on.”

Friedman made sure to point out that he knows nothing about a potential return and did not want to speculate on the matter.

Hughes is in year five of the six-year, $7.85 million AAV contract he signed on October 1, 2021. During that contract, Hughes was named captain (2023-24) and became the first Canucks defenceman to win the Norris Trophy with a 17-goal, 92-point season. Last season, he led the team in points with 76, despite playing just 68 games. And with his first point of the 2025-26 campaign, Hughes became the Canucks’ all-time leading scorer for a defenceman. The 26-year-old defenceman is already up to two goals and 22 points through 23 games this season.

The Orlando, Florida, native is eligible to sign an extension on July 1, 2026. The Devils have been linked to Hughes for some time, as both of Quinn’s brothers, Jack and Luke, currently play for New Jersey.

Hughes has been quoted as saying, “I’ll answer that with my actions next summer.” With the Canucks, as of this writing, currently in last place in the NHL standings, there are serious questions around Hughes and his future in Vancouver.