Last season, Quinn Hughes was the Vancouver Canucks most reliable player, despite missing 14 games due to injury. The Canucks' franchise has high hopes for the star defenseman. However, former NHL defenseman James Wisniewski shares a different opinion on Hughes.
During episode No. 217 of the Empty Netters podcast, Wisniewski compared the Canucks captain to Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski.
"If you want my personal opinion, I don't think you win a cup with that man (Hughes)," Wisniewski said. "Now, he (Hughes) is a fucking hell of a defenseman. I don't think he's next level to make you now take a guy like Zach Werenski. Yeah, he is next level. You win with that man. You're gonna see like, they're somewhat the same player, but Zack is like 6'4 like 210. He is like 5'10."
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Hughes scored 16 goals and 60 assists for 76 points in 68 games last season while averaging 25:43 of ice time with a +2 rating. The Canucks finished 38-30-14 and missed the playoffs.
On the other hand, Zach Werenski, who has three years left on his six-year, $57,500,000 contract, scored 23 goals and 59 assists in 81 games last season while averaging 26:44 of ice time with a +12 rating. His Blue Jackets finished 40-33-9 and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin emphasize keeping Quinn Hughes a top priority for Canucks
On April 22, Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin spoke to the media about the 2024-25 season and addressed questions about Quinn Hughes’ future with the Vancouver Canucks. Hughes is signed for two more seasons, but there is already talk about what might happen when he becomes a free agent.
Rutherford made it clear the team plans to keep him. He said via Yahoo Sports:
“We will have enough cap space to offer him the kind of contract that he deserves.”
He added that it might not just come down to money:
“He’s (Hughes) said before, he wants to play with his brothers … that would be partly out of our control. In our control if we brought his brothers here.”
Allvin also praised Hughes, especially for how he handled this past season, saying:
“I’ve seen tremendous growth in Quinn during the three years here … I’ve got a lot of respect for him, off ice more so than on ice.”
Both believe keeping Hughes is a top priority.
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