If you were the Detroit Red Wings, would you give up top defense prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka to acquire Norris Trophy-winning defender Quinn Hughes?
Do we really have to answer that question?
Of course you would. And so would they.
Sandin Pellikka is an elite-level prospect. The upside of his untapped potential creates an aura of exciting possibilities.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka on his favorite Swedish-born player, Peter Forsberg or Nicklas Lidstrom….. pic.twitter.com/hflqZkhDKE
— Bob Kaser (@bkaser1) April 16, 2025
Hughes, on the other hand, is an established NHL star, a world-class defender who, at the age of 25, hasn’t even reached his prime. He’s already accumulated 59 goals and 409 points in 433 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks.
As much as there is to be excited about with Sandin Pellikka, Hughes is already there. Given the choice, you go with the proven commodity.
Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Canucks aren’t shopping Hughes. Not yet.
That situation, though, could change before the end of the 2025-26 NHL season.
Hughes has two years left on his contract with the Canucks. He’ll be a UFA on July 1, 2027, if he doesn’t sign a new pact with Vancouver.
The popular speculation is that Hughes would like to go to New Jersey for an on-ice family reunion with his brothers, Jack and Luke. However, coming to Detroit would also offer appeal. Hughes is from the area. He played with the USNTDP in Plymouth and later for the Michigan Wolverines.
“There are so many things, and you can spin it 100 different ways,” Canucks president and former Red Wings goalie Jim Rutherford told the Vancouver Province.
Red Wings Could Rectify 2018 Draft Mistake
Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is always talking about how he’s persistently on the lookout for ways to make his team better. He’s forever exploring options.
“We’re perpetually looking at ways to improve the team with options that may or may not be out there, and regarding trades, the cost to acquire the player, and do they fit in?
“You know things will come up along the way, and you just got to be prepared.”
Canucks captain Quinn Hughes says he loves playing in Vancouver, but isn’t actively pondering his contract situation with the team. He won’t be able to re-up with the team until July 1, 2026.
The 25-year-old has two years and $15.7M remaining on his six-year, $47.1M contract… pic.twitter.com/EQok8Gi9Nq
— BarDown (@BarDown) September 18, 2025
If a chance to acquire Quinn Hughes were to come up, Yzerman should move heaven and earth to make it happen. Even if that meant giving up the top prospect in the Detroit pipeline.
Not only would Hughes make the Red Wings better, but his acquisition would make up for the hideous decision made at the 2018 NHL entry draft.
Hughes was sitting there available when the Wings went to the podium to make the sixth overall pick. Instead, the team selected winger Filip Zadina with the sixth pick.
Don’t go blaming Yzerman for that mishap, though. Ken Holland was still GM of the Red Wings in 2018.
If Sandin Pellikka did go to Vancouver, he’d be coming full circle in a sense. When Detroit chose him 17th overall in 2023, it was with a pick the Wings got from the Canucks in a deal for defenseman Filip Hronek.