Rutherford comments on Vancouver Canucks doomsday scenario involving Hughes
Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford isn’t one to dance around difficult topics.
He’s rightfully earned a reputation for being honest, sometimes maybe too honest, when speaking to the media. It should be no surprise then that he brought up every Canucks fan’s worst nightmare on a recent podcast.
The Canucks have captain Quinn Hughes signed for two more years, but his future with the team is murky beyond that. The team will do everything possible to re-sign the star defenceman, who is one of the best players in the world, but there’s a chance he will walk away.
The prospect of Hughes walking at the end of his current contract frightens Canucks fans. It would be a massive blemish if the organization couldn’t convince its captain to stay. Naturally, Rutherford brought up this doomsday scenario when talking about Hughes on Friday.
“I think a better way of saying that is we control him for a year and two-thirds, because if we get to that trade deadline two years from now and it looks like he doesn’t want to stay, then we would have to do something at that point,” explained Rutherford on the 100% Hockey Podcast. “But we’re hoping that he’s here to stay. He’s the leader of the team and the face of the franchise.
Both of Hughes’ brothers play for the New Jersey Devils, and there’s no doubt a reunion would be attractive for all of them. Rutherford admitted as much during his year-end interview, adding more fuel to the fire in Canucks fans nightmares.
Losing Hughes would put the Canucks back many years and set them right back at square one for a rebuild.
While the possibility of trading Hughes is not something Canucks fans want to think about, it’s the reality of what might happen if the captain enters the final season of his contract with no extension.
The Canucks will need to turn the team around to make staying an attractive option for Hughes. Losing head coach Rick Tocchet was a big blow in that department, as Hughes had been outspoken about how much he loved the head coach.
Rutherford even joked about Hughes not picking up his call after the news of Tocchet’s departure came down, saying he hoped the captain was golfing. It turns out that Hughes was not only golfing, but his phone also died, and the two eventually got in touch.
“We had a great conversation. He’s a very understanding guy. He did really like Rick, he still likes Rick, of course. They had a great relationship and he loved playing for him,” explained Rutherford about Hughes. “But he understands how the sport works, and he’s all for going forward with the changes we’re going to have to make.”
Hughes is still a Canuck for the foreseeable future and they’re lucky to have a player and someone of his calibre leading the way. All the team can do is make staying in Vancouver as attractive an option as possible. Beyond that, things are out of their control, and that seems to be a reality Rutherford is very aware of.