Quinn Hughes is signed with the Vancouver Canucks through two more seasons. But considering his importance to the franchise and his rise to prominence as one of the league’s best defencemen, questions about his long-term future won’t go away.

Another key consideration for the 25-year-old is the possibility of playing alongside brothers Jack and Luke Hughes, who are both currently with the New Jersey Devils. Per Pierre LeBrun, Jack was asked about this as part of his NHL Player Media Tour on Tuesday, and said the following:

Jack Hughes is locked in for five more years with the Devils, while Luke is an RFA. The youngest brother was issued a qualifying offer this summer in order for the team to hold his rights, but is still in contract negotiations with the season just weeks away. Per Sportsnet, he’s reportedly seeking a five-year deal so he hits the market at the same time as his brother.

Obviously it’s the dream for most brothers in the NHL to get to play together. Canucks fans certainly have a keen understanding of that, with everything Daniel and Henrik Sedin accomplished through their time in Vancouver. At the same time, the Hughes brothers are still quite young in their career, and the chance to play alongside his brothers is just one factor that Quinn will have to consider come next summer. For his part, Vancouver’s captain is focused on the season ahead, considering that he can’t re-sign until July 1st anyways.

“Every year brings its different challenges,” Hughes said in a recent interview with Sportsnet. “Two of my best buddies (Canuck teammates Conor Garland and Brock Boeser) just signed in Vancouver long-term. I will say last year was not fun; it just wasn’t. But I’m a really competitive guy … and last year was a failure, so I’m trying to bring my best. Try to be a great leader and help my team get in the playoffs. Who knows what we can do and who knows how I’ll be feeling this time next year? It’s still a year away.”

So while the anxiety of Hughes walking probably won’t go away anytime soon, there’s a lot of ways this can all play out. Considering he can’t put pen to paper for 10 more months, for now it’s best to take a page from the captain’s book and focus on the year to come.

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.