Leading up to the official start of the 2025-26 regular season, the NHL Network released its top 50 players right now list, and the Vancouver Canucks captain was given a top-10 ranking.

NHL Network ranked Quinn Hughes as the 10th-best player in the NHL right now.

Hughes was the only Canuck to be ranked on the list. The left-shot defenceman was ranked ahead of some top NHL talent, including David Pastrnak (11), Kirill Kaprizov (12), Mikko Rantanen (13), Jack Eichel (14), Auston Matthews (15), Zach Werenski (17), Miro Heiskanen (21), and Victor Hedman (22).

The handful of players ranked higher than Hughes were: Connor McDavid (1), Nathan MacKinnon (2), Leon Draisaitl (3), Cale Makar (4), Nikita Kucherov (5), Aleksander Barkov (6), Sidney Crosby (7), Connor Hellebuyck (8), and Andrei Vasilevskiy (9).

The 25-year-old led the Canucks in points in 2024-25, finishing with 16 goals and 60 assists for 76 points, despite playing just 68 regular season games – most of which he played while recovering from injury. Hughes has been recognized for his outstanding play from the blue line, having been a dominant force for the Norris Trophy in back-to-back seasons. He won the award after a career-high 92-point season in 2023-24.

Earlier this offseason, the NHL Network recognized Hughes as the second-best defenceman on the top-20 list. The 5’10” defenceman trailed only Makar on this list, following his 30-goal, 92-point campaign, which earned him his second Norris Trophy. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents following the 2026-27 season and should be viewed as strong contract comparables once they are extension eligible.

Hughes enters the 2025-26 season with two years remaining on his contract that pays him $7.85 million annually. His brother Luke just signed an extension with the New Jersey Devils less than one week ago, surpassing his older two brothers with an average annual value of $9 million over the next seven seasons – Jack makes $8 million for the next four seasons.

You can see Hughes in action starting this Thursday, October 9, as your Canucks host the Calgary Flames for the second straight year in Rogers Arena for their season opener.