Elliotte Friedman casts doubt on Quinn Hughes' long-term future in Vancouver - "Might not be a lifelong Canuck"

A drama-filled season looks to be carying on into the summer for Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks.

In the aftermath of a disappointing 2024-25 campaign that saw Vancouver fail to make the playoffs, President Jim Rutherford added to the fire with comments made during his year-end media availability.

When asked about signing Captain Quinn Hughes to a long-term contract extension, Rutherford replied, saying it may not boil down to money but rather the fact that he wants to play with his brothers. Of course, Jack and Luke Hughes are core fixtures of the New Jersey Devils and will be for the foreseeable future, which now raises plenty of questions about Quinn's future in Vancouver.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke down his thoughts on the situation during Wednesday's edition of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast."

"I would say this to me the bigger thing about that was, that was Jim Rutherford warning his fan base that it’s possible Quinn Hughes might not be a lifelong Canuck. That’s what that told me and the Canucks had a nightmare year, they went from a one goal loss to the team that went to game seven of the Stanley Cup final to out of the playoffs and with a lot of questions, a lot of questions. And that is not gonna make Quinn Hughes happy. He wants to win," Friedman said (1:13:02).

"Like, if Vancouver is a good team, I don’t think they worry about this as much. But I think, you know, Rick Tocchet is uncertain, the team on ice is uncertain. I think that, what I’m guessing is that the Vancouver Canucks know that if they don’t stabilize things, in two years Quinn Hughes is gonna say you know what guys I wanna win, I wanna win. And if it’s not solid there, I think they know they could lose him. And that’s what that was about," Friedman added.

Hughes has two years remaining on the six-year, $47,100,000 contract extension signed with Vancouver in 2021. He will be eligible to sign another extension with the Canucks on July 1, 2026, but subsequently could hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2027.

Quinn Hughes was brilliant this season

Despite the lost season, Quinn Hughes took his game to another level in 2024-25.

The 25-year-old racked up 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists) in just 68 games, leading the Canucks in production by a wide margin. Had Hughes not dealt with a mid-season injury, he would have been a frontrunner to win his second consecutive Norris Trophy and even drawn consideration for Hart Trophy votes.

The Canucks desperately need to turn things around, as they can ill afford to let one of the game's best players walk out the door during the prime of his career. General manager Patrik Allvin and President Jim Rutherford have their work cut out for them this offseason to bring Vancouver back into contention.