Could Quinn Hughes come back to Michigan? What would it cost?

Could Quinn Hughes come back to Michigan? What would it cost?

Today on Lockdown Red Wings, there are whispers of Quinn Hughes as the Vancouver Conucks make it aware that they’re willing to trade off veterans. You’re Locked on Red Wings, your daily podcast on the Detroit Red Wings, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Welcome back to the Locked On Red Wings podcast. We are your hosts, Brian Fischer and Scotty Bentley, who is back from the dead. Uh, still not 100% by the looks and sounds of things, but happy to have you back all the same, Scotty. I’m uh I’m glad to be back. I’m glad I don’t look alive. That’s always good. Um, excuse my unprofessionalism. It’s it’s either spend the episode with like six cough drops in my mouth or just hack up along the entire time. So, I’m I’m going for the former uh in that regard, but uh yeah, happy to be back. Scotty made sure he was back for the Quinn Hughes conversation. He was really chomping at the bit to dig into this one. Yes. And that’s what we’re going to be doing on this episode prior to previewing the Columbus Blue Jackets as they play the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday to kick off, I think, a sixgame road stand. So, obviously, there’s been a lot of rumors surrounding the Vancouver Conucks this past week, Scotty. Uh the Vancouver Conucks apparently sent out a memo to the other 31 teams saying they’re open for business. They’re off to a slow start. Uh one of the few teams in the Western Conference that’s actually below a 500 points percentage. Ironically enough, in that memo, according to league sources, they said they are not shopping Quinn Hughes. But that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill, i.e. Jeff Merik, Elliot Freriedman, David Pagnata, hell, even Pierre Magcguire has chimed in on Queen Hughes and where he could be going next. And Detroit just time and time again keeps popping up in that conversation because of the connection between the Detroit Red Wings or I should say the state of Michigan and Quinn Hughes and his brothers. Uh Quinn obviously along with Jack and Luke Hughes played for the University of Michigan and the developmental program in Plymouth. They spend their summers in Michigan, I believe they have a pretty strong connection here. Detroit is a team that could use a talent like Quinn Hughes. So while they may be saying he’s not on the market as of right now, and I highly doubt if there is a trade for Quinn Hughes, it would be anytime soon. It might be a deadline. it might be off season. His name keeps popping up in a conversation with the Detroit Red Wings. So, I want to kind of start there. Scotty, in your eyes, how would the acquisition of a Quinn Hughes impact the Detroit Red Wings as it stands now? Yeah, I mean, pretty dramatically. Um, you know, it’s it’s one of those things you mention, one of the lines you said in there was the Red Wings could use a talent like that. Well, the the issue, I guess you would say, with a player of that caliber is there’s 31 other teams that are saying the same thing. And I mean, honestly, there’s 32 other teams. like that the team he is presently on is also probably I mean they literally said you know when they opened the door and opened the can of worms of like we’re open for business it was we’re open for business except for him and uh that just hasn’t stopped anybody or or really everybody from still trying to poke and pry and be like well but that’s the one we want so let’s maybe focus in a little bit more on him specifically. I I you know, you can say all you want from Vancouver’s perspective. Like you can say all you want, you know, like it’s everybody but him or we’re not trading him. Like ultimately if there’s a Godfather offer then like it is what it is, right? Like Gretzky got traded. Like anything anything kind of goes if the price is right. Um, and again, it’s not like there won’t be plenty of offers from probably 31 teams on the table. I mean, but to answer your question, I I guess plainly, like, yeah, obviously if he was a Red Wing, it would change the dynamic of this team a lot. Uh, he would, I mean, immediately be the best player on the team, if not one of the best players on the team. like that. I I Yeah, like adding a player of that caliber is is pretty uh pretty dramatically changes I think the trajectory or maybe not even I mean it hopefully it changes the tra trajectory but I think it changes the expectations immediately of of what you’re hoping this team to accomplish not only this year but going forward. Well, and the wildest thing about this is and I’m literally learning this right now. I was looking at his stats as you were talking. I automatically assumed somebody of Quinn Hughes’s caliber would have trade protections. He’s got two years left, making just shy$8 million. So, a great great value on those final two years for a guy who’s a Norris Trophy winner and has a close to 90 points in his career as a defenseman. I would have assumed he had at least a partial no trade clause, if not a full no trade clause. He does not have any trade protection, which makes it way easier on Vancouver if they do choose to move him. Now, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have any say in where he goes next because he does, for example, have the ability to still say, “Okay, you can trade me there, but I won’t sign an extension.” And that will hurt his value even if he does have his contract is up at the end of next season. So, that will have an impact on where he goes and where he doesn’t go. Kind of similar with the Alex Debrinki. He was an RFA, but he just was like, I’m not going to sign anywhere but Detroit. So, you only have one option. There’s two real big destinations that seem to make a lot of sense to a lot of people. And one of them is obviously the New Jersey Devils. His brothers play there. You would think he would want to reunite with his brothers as a tour having fun in New Jersey on a playoff caliber team, one of the top teams in the Metro Division. And then, of course, the Detroit Red Wings. It would be insane. That’s why they’re honestly the top candidate. And I think the Red Wings are the second best candidate because of the Hughes brothers connection. And I want to correct myself a little bit here. I don’t believe that Jack Hughes ever played for the University of Michigan. Just Quinn and Luke Hughes did, but they both played for the developmental team. Um, but with Quinn Hughes, the impact he would have on this roster would be immediate. And obviously we’ll talk potential asks from Vancouver in segment two, but assuming you don’t lose any of your non-negotiable players, and in my head there’s three, and we’ll talk about that again when we get to the who would you deal situation or what would that deal look like. This would be an immediate playoff team. I mean, you’re talking again about a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman who could play on a pair with Morett Cider who is top eight in the league right now, minimum 200 minutes played at expected goal share. Moret’s been playing fantastic, plays a big defensive role and is on a 50 point plus pace with Quinn Hughes who might get slightly more sheltered deployments but is so dynamic offensively that he would provide a huge pop for this team. So yeah, the question I asked to start the show, Scotty, was super super obvious because the answer to how would this impact the Red Wings would it would immediately make them a playoff team. Not a playoff contender, a playoff team. That’s the kind of player Quinn Hughes is. And that’s why he’s that he’s in the conversation with all the insiders and as is Detroit because Detroit has a lot of the assets and the connection that could pay off for that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and that’s I mean that we we have this conversation every summer too, right? about like, okay, well, the the Wings have the ability to go out and make these deals because they have a a rich farm system and have uh you know, young players that other teams would would kind of seek. They have obviously uh plenty of draft capital still at their disposal over the next couple of years. like they can pull any you know some I shouldn’t say they they definitely can but you would think that they have the resources to do something like that. Um so yeah I mean we’ll we’ll see right it’s going to be exciting. Scotty let’s head to segment two of Lockdown Red Wings. We’ll talk a little bit more in the weeds about what Vancouver would realistically ask for and what Red Wings, the Red Wings front office should be realistically willing to give up for Quinn Hughes in a hypothetical situation where the Red Wings get him. Stay tuned to segment two of Lockdown Red Wings. NFL Sundays move fast. One play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place live bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Live betting is the best when the games start to shift, a receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover. FanDuel lets you jump into the moment. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your live bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast and so can you. Scotty, obviously getting Quinn Hughes on the Detroit Red Wings, even in a hypothetical situation, even if it’s not soon, if it’s the trade deadline or the offseason, it would make a lot of sense for, in my opinion, both teams. The Red Wings obviously have a lot of young NHL ready players. They have a lot of prospects and they have a lot of draft capital. The Vancouver Conucks are appearing to be in a little bit of a retool. So, young players, prospects, and draft capital would benefit them in this hypothetical trade. Plus, the Red Wings need an impact player, a superstar like Quinn Hughes on their roster to elevate them to the next level. And he’s not outside of their competitive window, right? You have Dylan Larkin who’s on the high end of their competitive window at 29. And then you have guys like more Cider and Lucas Raymond, or even go younger than that, Simon Edison, who are in their early 20s. Quinn Hughes sits right smack dab in the middle of that at 26 years old. So, it makes a lot of sense in my opinion for both parties if Vancouver decides to move on from Quinn Hughes for the Detroit Red Wings to be in the thick of that conversation and a lot of the insiders agree. You have uh Jeff Merrick, I believe, propose was it Simon Edmonson? You had Pegnata. I’m trying to remember the order in which this happened, but you had Merrick, Pegnata, and Elliot Freriedman all suggest Detroit as a landing destination. All three suggest a different player. One was Edmonson, one was Raymond as a centerpiece, one Elliot Freeman didn’t say a name, but he said Vancouver would want a center. And he goes, I won’t name names, but you know who I’m talking about, which to me I inferred as him hinting at Dylan Larkin. In my opinion, Scotty, and I want to know your take here. There are three players that, and I know Quinn here, Quinn Hughes is a superstar, and I know that he um is a Norris Trophy winner. There are three players I’m not willing to mortgage in an acquisition of Quinn Hughes and that is Cider, Raymond, and Dylan Larkin for slightly different reasons. Um, but where do you stand on that? Like are there untouchables for you in a Quinn Hughes trade before we get into, you know, what we would think would be reasonable? Yeah. Well, I I think uh I I think that’s a situation where the the nuance with it comes down to what else is attached. Like Mhm. I I mean, Hughes is it’s a one of those weird conversations with like if you’re asking me to swap them one for one then like that’s a lot different than like oh you’re you know gonna which this is reality. you’re going to have to trade one of those guys plus X Y and Z. And it’s like, well, at some point you are, how do I even word this? I I think the Red Wings are trying to build a core around those three around the three names that you just mentioned, Raymond, Larkin, and Cider. So I I I I don’t think they are even if the value you look at and you’re like well yeah I would trade you know whoever whichever your opinion is of those three you know talent level stacked up to Hughes I would trade any of them one for one fine but like the the point is the the Wings are trying to have would be trying to have Hughes play with those three play with their core. That’s the whole point. They they would not I I don’t think that they are in the unless the value is just overwhelmingly good in their favor. I I don’t think they’re in the business of trading any of those three guys, trading away their best players for the purpose of getting albeit, you know, one of the best players in the NHL back. But how much better does that make you if you’re getting rid of one of your best players right now to to bring him in? like you have to play kind of the the juxosition there. So yeah, like I again if if you’re ask like one for one if you want to do that like you know I guess we can have a conversation but that’s not what it would be and I I think that plus the other assets you’d give up plus the fact that you’re getting rid of maybe a a oneA center. Who the heck’s going to play topline center if you bring in Hughes? Like I I just I don’t see any scenario in which Larkin, Raymond, or Cider are traded for really I mean anybody uh for that exact reason. The short on Conor McDavid. Right. Right. That Right. Well, and and again, like the the whole point is to to bring in talent to play alongside of the core you already have in place, not, you know, blow it up and and just change the the core players, you know, and and get rid of, you know what I mean? Like it’s right, it’s it’s one of those for sure. You you hit the nail on the head. This is about bringing in somebody to play with your core, not to replace your core. And you know, Dylan Larkin’s obviously on the older end of that spectrum at 29 years old. His his prime is probably just a few more seasons. So, it is important for the Red Wings to get good sooner rather than later. But the reason you don’t trade Larkin is because of the fact that, like you said, you don’t have any other centers. And I don’t mean that as like you have centers. You have Casper, you have Danielson, you have Comper, you have Cop, you have Rasmus, like they can all play center, but none of them in my opinion are Dylan Larkin caliber centers. So you replace him and you don’t have you’re swapping hole for hole. You get your superstar defenseman and I think Northsider is a star himself. We’re talking like productionwise one of the best defenseman offensively and is no slouch defensively either in Quinn Hughes but then you have a massive hold down the middle that really hurts you too. So you can’t make that trade and I don’t think Vancouver is unfair to ask about Larkin Raymond or Cider because who are they giving up? They’re giving up one of the best defenseman in the game. Of course, they’re I think it’s a reasonable ask for them to at least start negotiation there and the Red Wings are going to be reasonable for saying no because we want to add to our core, not swap our core out. So, the same argument and Elliot Freriedman suggested the center thing. I I think that you have other centers you can provide them that are younger on an ELC and might not have Dylan Lark and Ceilings, but are going to be really good middle six centers for you down the stretch. Um, I would be all right with moving pretty much anybody else for Quinn Hughes, depending on the package of course, as long as their names are not Raymond Larkin and Morit Cider. And so, yes, that does include guys like Casper, Danielson, Edmonson, ASP, MBN, Bear. If you want to get Quinn Hughes, you have to be comfortable moving on from one of those guys, if not multiple, because the upside Quinn Hughes is gonna give you is probably higher than the upside those guys have, even if they’re incredible players. So, I think if they want a center, you maybe say here’s Casper and here’s multiple first round picks or another prospect of your choice or it’s all of those things. Yeah, I think it’s probably him and other prospects of their choice and multiple firsts. Yeah. And you have to be comfortable doing that because if you if we keep asking Steve Eiserman to make a big impact move, you’re going to have to give up big impact prices for sure. So I I think again the only untouchables in this situation are Cider, Raymond, Larkin, anybody else is on the table depending on the package. Same with any draft picks. You have your first round pick for the next three years. You have two of your next three second round picks. You’re missing your second round pick in 2027. You have a ton of prospects and a ton of young players that you could attach to help the Vancouver Conucks reboot their team again while you get one of the best defenseman in the game. I I think that the fit makes a lot of sense for both teams. Honest to God. And I think Quinn Hughes has an incentive to come here because of his connections to Michigan. I there’s a reason why the Hughes brothers reportedly spend every summer in Michigan. They love it here. And obviously the they’re still probably second to the Devils because of the fact that they have Luke and they have Jack. But if with the with the fact that he doesn’t have trade protection, it might not be up to him where he goes. He might have a say. They might do his uh they might do right by him and take into account the teams he wants to go to the most, but I would imagine the Red Wings are on that short list. Yeah. And even, you know, if you like I I mean, I don’t know the guy, right? I have no clue what his motives are, etc., etc. But even just from a hockey perspective, right? I mean, you’re you’re going to a team that is kind of on the verge of the playoffs, still has a young core, is trying to be competitive for a long time. if you stay there long term like you’re going to be right in the thick of you know what what is hopefully the prime years of this team you’re immediately a part of the core um etc etc I think uh yeah I I think you know again even the the off the ice stuff excluded I think from a pure hockey perspective it makes uh you know it makes sense for him too yeah and I mean the one thing I would wonder too is how would you pair Quinn Hughes and Moret Cider together and I asked that Because as it stands right now, you have Marcus Person and Tyler Myers kind of taking on the cider defensive deployment role with Vancouver to free up Heronic and Hughes to play bulk majority offensive zone deployments uh on the man that is an offensive pair. That’s it is an offensive pair and Cider obviously has a lot of offense in him as we’ve seen lately. He’s really turned it on. But would you ask Hughes to play more defensive zone deployments? Would you ask Cider to Would you take Cider off defensive zone appointments where he’s so good or you split that up that split up that wealth and have him play on separate pairs? I wonder, man. It’s It’s fun to think about. I’d put them together. I think you try both and see what works out better. Sure. You You would have one You would probably have the best defensive pair in the league if you put them together. Yeah. I would just wonder about how you would use them deployment wise just because they deployments. Why I would put them together is cuz you really kind of feel good about any deployment, right? That’s fair. Scotty, anything else in the Quinn Hughes situation? I don’t think so, man. I I think uh really ultimately it’s just like this isn’t happening tomorrow. Uh if it does happen, it would be at the deadline or even in the off season. Um but even that is it kind of seems far-fetched and a little bit like a Hail Mary. I I don’t expect this to happen. I don’t think it’s going to happen. Um, but uh we can we can hope and and dream and I I think that if there is a team that’s a good fit out there to make, you know, the the hailmary catch, so to speak, it would be, you know, the Red Wings would be in that mix for sure. Absolutely. Scotty, let’s head to a quick break. When we return, we’ll preview the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. So stay tuned to segment three of Lockdown Red Wings. When I’m hydrated, everything just works better. My focus, energy, mood, even my skin. That’s why I’ve been using Drip Drop. It’s doctor developed hydration that keeps me running at full power, no matter what my day looks like. Drip Drop isn’t your average sports drink, it delivers three times the electrolytes and half the sugar of leading brands. Using a science-backed formula trusted by medical professionals, firefighters, and over 90% of top collagen pro teams. You’re going to love using Drip Drop as part of your daily routine. You can just mix a packet in the morning before the gym or during that midday slump. And God knows that my midday slumps slump hard. Drip Drop is great for that. Hydration has never become sorry, hydration has become non-negotiable. Drip Drop helps me feel sharper, calmer, and honestly, just better overall. Right now, Drip Drop is offering podcast listeners 20% off their first order. Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code lockdown NHL. That’s dripdrop.com. promo code lockdown NHL for 20% off. Stock up now before the heat hits hard and keep your body and mind performing at their best with Drip Drop. All right, Scotty. The Detroit Red Wings play the Columbus Blue Jackets in a first the first game of a sixgame road swing. Pretty important game for the Detroit Red Wings as while the Columbus Blue Jackets may not be in the Atlantic Division, they are one of those teams that are hovering around the Metropolitan for the wild card. You got to imagine, and yes, I know they’re 29 points is worse than the Metro Division, but the Eastern Conference as a whole, nobody’s out of it yet. So, you got to imagine getting off on the right foot against Columbus in Columbus is going to be massive for the Detroit Red Wings as they try to stay in the mix in a tight Eastern Conference. Yeah. Well, obviously you got to talk about uh you know, the Bruins game on yesterday’s show and and we’ve kind of been waiting for them to bounce back. We also know this Red Wings team has been very streaky throughout the season. Uh, and that’s something that you’ve pointed out quite a few times throughout the course of the year is they they go on, you know, point streaks and then they drop and and it doesn’t really matter who they play in those streaks. They are able to beat really good teams when they’re hot and lose to really bad teams when they’re not. So, um, yeah, like this Columbus team is is still kind of right in the thick of things and and has been since uh what the middle of last year. Um, they’re 129 and five. a lot of their uh special teams, excuse me, um has been struggling this year. Uh the penalty kill has not been good. The power plays bottom 10 in the league. The penalty kills even even worse than that. I think bottom five in the league. So, um there there are areas to to kind of exploit here and and to get the uh the proverbial upper hand. Um they’ve given up a lot of goals this year. Um but uh yeah, I mean this is still a team that can when called upon or when put in the situation, they can score, you know, in bunches. They can give themselves opportunities. Worinsky is is, you know, one of the premier offensive uh defenseman in the NHL. And yeah, they’re they have the same amount of wins as the Wings do in the last 10 games. So do with that as you will. Yeah. And what’s interesting too is they’re last place in the Metro, but they’re one win from a wild card spot. So, just to again, as we have been all season, reemphasize the fact that it is airtight in the Eastern Conference and both the Atlantic and the Metro Division. One win, one loss. You saw it with the Boston Bruins game the other night. Red Wings are outside of a playoff spot before that game. Now they’re tied for second in the division. One win did that. So, it’s really important if you’re uh the Detroit Red Wings to start this road trip on the right foot because the schedule is, you know, not going to get that much easier as it progresses here after the Columbus game. Um, you are heading to Seattle, you’re heading to Vancouver, you’re heading to Calgary, heading to Edmonton, and finishing in Chicago. West Coast Canada. Yeah, the Western Canada plus Seattle road trip, right? Uh, as we call it. So this you got to start right because then you’re going to change time zones. You’re going to play tougher teams. It’s going to get even harder. Um although you know we’re deact about Vancouver one of the few teams that are below 500 in the Eastern Conference or Western Conference. Calgary is the other team that is below 500 in the Western Conference. Edmonton is slumping to start the season. They always do that though. They always do. So, the Red Wings, while it’s a long road trip, have an opportunity to, just like they did last time when they went to Canada, come away from the road trip with a successful trip. But the problem is is as you just noted, will they actually play well or will they shoot themselves in the foot because they have the ability to play really poorly against worse teams and really good against bad teams but come up short. So I wonder which Red Wings we’re going to get. But that’s I guess we we won’t know until we see. That is how that works. Yeah, that is how that works. And it starts with Columbus tonight. Yeah. I I mean I don’t know, man. It’s just this team’s so hard to can’t get a read. Yeah. And Columbus is wonderfully mid. Every single They’re 16th in the league in both expected goals and shot attempts right now. Um they’re 17th in the league, one below the middle in actual goals at five on five. So like they don’t really excel but they don’t also struggle at five on five. The Red Wings actually do play well at five on five. They just can’t score. Obviously the game against Boston notwithstanding as they scored a lot in that game and it was very cathartic. So if the Red Wings can build off the performance against Boston, it could set them up nicely to have kind of one of those snowball effects when they get hot and having a successful road trip would be fantastic. Fantastic to uh fantastic. That’s another guy’s got to get going, man. He’s He’s been playing so well. He just has been denied every single time. That’s, you know, copy and paste really. A lot of those guys. Anyways, Scotty, any final thoughts? We ball. We do ball. We’ll be back with a new episode tomorrow to recap this game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Everybody, let Scotty know in the comments that you hope that he looks and feels better as the days go on. Same time, same place. Your team every day.

The Vancouver Canucks have indicated they are willing to listen on their veterant. And even though they have said they are NOT shopping Hughes yet, NHL insiders can’t help but utter the Detroit Red Wings and Quinn Hughes in the same sentence? Does the fit make sense? Previewing the Columbus Blue Jackets. #LGRW

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