NHL analyst gives his opinion on 'tampering' allegations hurled at Canucks President after comment on potential Hughes brothers trade

NHL analyst Craig Button has weighed in on the recent 'tampering' allegations made against Vancouver Canucks President Jim Rutherford.

The controversy stems from comments Rutherford made at the end of season media availability regarding star defenseman Quinn Hughes and the possibility of trading for his brothers Jack and Luke from the New Jersey Devils.

When asked about the possibility of extending Quinn Hughes, Rutherford responded:

"He (Quinn Hughes) has 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."

Some viewed this comment as Rutherford openly discussing acquiring players under contract with another team, which could be considered tampering under NHL rules.

Appearing on SportsCentre, Button downplayed the tampering allegations. When host Jay Onrait asked if Rutherford received a call from the league about the comments, Button said:

"Everybody knows what he was saying. There's no tampering there." (1:50)

When pushed on how Rutherford's comments didn't technically meet the definition of tampering, Button conceded, "I guess it's tampering by the definition." However, he maintained that it was a "throwaway comment" and nothing else.

Button argued Rutherford's remarks were not a "concerted effort" to acquire the Hughes brothers, but rather an off-hand hypothetical.

He predicted Rutherford would at most,

"get a call and he'll just say, 'Hey, smarten up.' It's no big deal. It's much ado about nothing."

While Button doesn't believe anything will come of it, Onrait believes Rutherford's comments do toe the line when it comes to league rules about discussing players under contract with other teams.

Daniel Wagner's take on 'tampering' by Canucks president

NHL analyst Daniel Wagner shared his thoughts on 'tampering' controversy surrounding Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford.

In an X post on Monday, Wagner said the bigger issue was that Rutherford's hypothetical "unfairly and out of nowhere — threw fuel onto the 'Quinn Hughes wants out' fire."

Wagner explained:

"It's one thing for fans to speculate that Hughes might want to play with his brothers, or for Hughes himself to say that would be 'really cool.'"

"It's another thing for the president of hockey ops to flat-out say that Hughes wants to play with his brothers."

Wagner believes Rutherford's speculative remarks gave away the impression that Quinn Hughes was trying to force a trade away from the Canucks.