NHL insider Farhan Lalji ditches J.T Miller, Elias Pettersson to pick $47,100,000 Canucks’ D-man as the one to ‘count on’

On Friday, NHL insider Farhan Lalji appeared on TSN's OverDrive to discuss the Vancouver Canucks. He highlighted Quinn Hughes as the team’s most dependable player this season. He leads the team with 10 goals and 38 assists in the 2024-25 NHL season.

"The one guy that you can count on night in and night out is Quinn Hughes,” Lalji said. “Who I still think is playing at a Hart trophy level, not just a Norris trophy level." [00:28]

Meanwhile, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson have struggled this season. Both have 29 points, ranking outside the NHL’s top 100 scorers.

"I mean. JT Miller missed 10 games," Lalji said. "He's played in 17 games since, and he scored in one of those 17 games. It's, you know, when you look at how this team is playing. Patterson gives us a few moments here and there."

Lalji also criticized other key players, saying they looked like they had checked out.

"The rest of them look like they've checked out. And that's as big an indictment as I can offer," Lalji said.

Hughes' +13 rating shows strong defensive play. He averages 25:20 of ice time per game. Moreover, he has 27 points and a +22 rating in Vancouver's victories.

Hughes signed a six-year, $47.1 million contract in 2021. Drafted 7th overall in 2018, Hughes has 381 career points in 405 games.

The Canucks are fifth in the Pacific Division with a 19-15-10 record.

Canucks lose to Kings 5-1, Hughes scores only goal

The Vancouver Canucks lost 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena on Thursday. Quinn Hughes scored the only goal in the loss.

Alex Turcotte scored 51 seconds into the game, redirecting Adrian Kempe’s pass on a 2-on-1 after Filip Hronek misplayed the puck. Turcotte made it 2-0 at 9:18, converting Kevin Fiala’s rebound.

Just 24 seconds later, Kempe scored to make it 3-0. Turcotte set him up with a backhand pass, and Kempe moved around Thatcher Demko to finish.

Hughes scored at 14:52 of the second period with a wrist shot through traffic, cutting the lead to 3-1. The Kings quickly responded when Fiala scored on a 2-on-1 to restore the three-goal lead.

Warren Foegele added the final goal at 11:36 of the third period, scoring from close range after a defensive breakdown. The Canucks struggled with turnovers and defensive mistakes, finishing 0-for-5 on the power play.