The Vancouver Canucks were without their captain on Sunday evening, as despite taking line rushes in pre-game skate, Quinn Hughes was held out of the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings.
However, his injury isn’t expected to affect his 4 Nations Face-off availability, as his agent, JP Barry, shared on Donnie and Dhali on Monday morning:
“No, I don’t see that; I think he wants to go,” Barry said when asked about Hughes missing the upcoming tournament. “I think it’s just bumps and bruises; it’s nothing serious, and he wants to be ready and wants to play at that level. It’s important to him; it’s important to the game. I think it’s going to affect the team at all.
“Just bumps and bruises, he’s working through it,” Barry said regarding Hughes’ injuries. “It’s nothing serious. You know, it’s just the rigours of a hard season. He just wants to play. He plays a lot of minutes and he’s a target for people, so he’s going to have to play through those things. The odd day he’ll be a rest, like he had here, and I think he’ll get right back.”
The Canuck captain is following his Norris Trophy campaign with another strong season. Hughes currently leads the team with 14 goals and 45 assists for 59 points through 47 games. Not only does he lead the team, but the entire league in points by a defenceman. Hughes has a one-point advantage over Cale Makar (58) despite playing seven fewer games than Makar.
Barry commented on the stellar play from his client, especially with everything going on around the team and in the locker room:
“Quinn just continues to get better and better. His intelligence, the way he sees the game, he sees it at a different pace than everyone else. You combine that with his skills and how comfortable he is on the blue line, being the quarterback on the power play. Yeah, he’s a very cerebral player, and he’s really hitting new heights.
“It hasn’t affected his play,” Barry said about how Hughes has dealt with all the noise. “But I think he wants the team to have results more than himself personally. If your room’s not right, then it affects everyone, including the leadership. I think this whole thing could go to another level here for him. And he’ll feel more comfortable with the room and we can just move forward. I look for a really good finish.”
Hughes is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-2027 season. Barry discussed the potential future of his client.
“No, I think people should settle down,” Barry chuckled when asked if fans should be concerned about the idea of Hughes walking away after his contract. “It’s a long way away. Let him play. He loves being a Canuck. He’s been given every role [here], he’s happy. Let’s just get this team going strong, and that will take care of itself.”
With what Barry said today, it sounds like Team USA will have Quinn Hughes in the lineup when they kick off their 4 Nations Face-off on February 13 against Team Finland.
