TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins Gino Reda to discuss what it means for Quinn Hughes now that the Canucks are ‘open for business’, how the next couple of months could play out for the captain in Vancouver, the trade dialogue happening across the NHL right now, the latest on the Leafs’ injury front and more.

Gino Reda: U.S. Thanksgiving is coming up this week. Traditionally it’s the time that teams take stock of where they are and start making some big decisions. How they want to handle things moving forward on the trade front. Is it time to add? Or maybe it’s time to sell.

Here’s our Insider Darren Dreger. Let’s hit Vancouver first. Reports are that the Canucks are open for business. What’s that mean, Dregs?

Kiefer Sherwood Vancouver Canucks (John Froschauer/AP)

Darren Dreger: Well, what it means is that the Vancouver Canucks management sent out a note to the other 31 clubs on Monday to say “Hey, we’re interested in talking about our pending unrestricted free agent players.”

It doesn’t mean that the Canucks and general manager Patrik Allvin are wanting or willing to sell off all his veteran players. That’s simply not the case. I think we can appreciate where the Vancouver Canucks are in their process. The team is playing hard but they’ve faced a ton of adversity based on injury.

We know that Patrik Allvin continues to talk to clubs around the NHL identifying his need for a centreman. Just look at David Kampf as a prime example. He’s pulled off the scrap heap in Toronto and moved to Vancouver and he’s now the second line centre for the Canucks.

That’s a tough spot for him and the Canucks.

The Canucks feel like they want to get younger and they’re willing to part with, again, some of those UFA targets. They sent that note out on Monday and I think that’s the basis now for all of the league-wide speculation.

Reda: As you throw out those comments, Canucks fans are saying “What does this mean for Quinn Hughes?” Of course, he’s not a pending unrestricted free agent this year. He’s got this year and next, but it’s got to make Canucks fans a little bit nervous.

How does the next couple of months affect Quinn Hughes?

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates during an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong) Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates during an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Dreger: It could. Based on the fact that we know the captain of the Vancouver Canucks is fully in and committed to winning in Vancouver. That possibly could change if you get through this year and things don’t improve. Right now, he’s under contract for next season.

I think, organizationally, the Canucks are embracing the importance of this season as it relates to Quinn Hughes. If you get through this year and there hasn’t been significant change or the injury bug continues to take it’s toll on the roster and they miss the playoffs, I think, arguably, all bets are off in the offseason.

Right now, I think Quinn Hughes also sees that this is a hard working club. They need some pieces, they need to get healthy. If they do that then they’re going to win some hockey games and make it much more competitive, perhaps, than it has been for the first 20-plus games.

Reda: Toronto is dead last in the East. Now what there? Calgary is second last in the West. What happens there? The Blues, the Predators are imploding. Is there a lot of chatter going on behind the scenes now?

Steven Stamkos Nashville Predators Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) plays during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) (George Walker IV/AP)

Dreger: Yeah, there’s a significant amount of chatter. The problem, though, is that there are so few legit seller right now that any trade dialogue isn’t really a negotiation. Sure, there are teams wanting to be a buyer, we just talked about one of them, the Vancouver Canucks, are making those calls but the asking price, if there is an available player, is really high.

The sellers are few but I’m looking at the teams that are most notably are looking to shake things up: The St. Louis Blues with Doug Armstrong as their general manager. Army never leaves the Louisville on his shoulder. He always finds a way to swing that bat. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he does something of significance in the days ahead.

Historically, as you mentioned earlier. You get to U.S. Thanksgiving and that seems to be the mark of where teams know what they have and know what they need. Maybe the line gets pushed back a little bit.

Watching the Nashville Predators and Barry Trotz as general manager, take it in the shins game after game. Yes, we know that they’re willing to listen on Steven Stamkos or Jonathan Marchessault but despite the fact that those are pedigreed players who have won championships, they’re older players who are not getting any faster and the market isn’t that deep.

I think that the teams who are struggling are open for business in the sense that they’re willing to listen but they’re not quite ready yet to part with primary assets.

Reda: Leaf fans are desperate for some good news. Matthew, Knies, Stolarz, Tanev, Carlo, Roy. Their medical ward is just jammed for a team that’s dead last in the East. Is there any good news on the horizon for the Leafs from an injury standpoint?

Auston Matthews COLUMBUS, OHIO – OCTOBER 29: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs lines up for a face-off during the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on October 29, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Dreger: Only that every day you’re getting closer to getting a full roster or at least close to that. We’re talking about the primary pieces here. The captain Auston Matthews is back on the ice. The reality is that he’s skating on a daily basis so you know that what he’s dealing with has to be getting better but he’s not going to be ready for Wednesday. It certainly doesn’t look that way.

I’m a little bit surprised with Matthew Knies. it was expected that he would miss a game or two and here we are approaching the middle of another week and it doesn’t look like Knies is going to be an option on Wednesday either. Nicolas Roy is another one.

Now you’re looking at the Capitals game on TSN on Friday. Is that possible? Well we’re going to need another day to figure that out.

What’s amplifying the issue is the fact that their secondary players and depth guys just haven’t been able to fill the void. You can’t expect any forward to replace the value of Knies or Matthews but the majority of that group just hasn’t been able to take advantage of the opportunity. I think, in part anyways, that’s what’s raised a bigger issue in Toronto than anything else.

Reda: In fairness, the Leafs aren’t the only team battling injuries right now. Is there a reason for this? Last year the league played a full 82 games in the regular allotted schedule with a 12-day break for the 4 Nations. This year, same 82 games, same window but 19 days of shutdown for the Olympics.

Bottom line, there’s a hugely condensed schedule. Is some of this just a matter of guys bodies breaking down due to the lack of recovery time?

Dreger: It depends who you ask. If you ask the players, if you ask their coaches and training staff, they would say yes, the condensed schedule is obviously having an impact. As you said, the upcoming winter Olympics have condensed the schedule that much more. Now, I reached out to the NHL last week because the league does track team-by-team injuries.

Obviously they’re not going to divulge specifics into individual player injuries. They don’t even like talking about the numbers. I pushed on it a little more earlier today and the acknowledgment is that, yes, injuries by in large are up but curiously, man games lost to injury aren’t materially up.

I’m not sure how those two things are occur simultaneously. So there is an acknowledgement that injuries across the board are up, but man games lost to injury are not. Again, the eye test tells us that if you look across the league and basically every team in the NL is dealing with some level of significant injury. We’ve talked about a couple of them here, the Vancouver Canucks, who have been decimated at times and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are in it right now.