OK, so last night got a little crazy in the rumor world… mainly on Twitter and Reddit… because when I talked to people about whether Quinn Hughes is actually going to get traded, the response was overwhelming:

“Are you kidding? Don’t believe the stuff you’re reading.”

To which I replied, “I don’t… but it’s a big story, and of course I have to embarrass myself and ask.”

Here seems to be the reality with the New Jersey Devils and Quinn Hughes:

They’re very confident he’s going to end up there eventually. Let’s call it very hopeful… but until it’s written in stone, it’s not real.

The one thing I keep hearing is that the Devils don’t want to give up anything close to what the Canucks would need for a legitimate Quinn Hughes trade. New Jersey appears perfectly comfortable waiting until July 1, 2027 when Hughes becomes an unrestricted free agent. If they have the money to make it work… the Hughes brothers are reunited.

So that puts the Vancouver Canucks in a real pickle… and it makes the trade deadline a lot more interesting. It appears the Canucks are now pitching multiple teams on the idea of getting Quinn Hughes for a year and a half and two playoff runs. That gives another team time to potentially win over the third Hughes brother.

And this is all driven by the remarkable fact that Quinn Hughes has zero trade protection. Vancouver can move him wherever they want. With no New Jersey leverage pushing things… the Canucks lose a little bit more negotiating power with each passing day.

So I fully expect that what we’re going to see now is a lot of teams making pitches…

The one thing I keep hearing Vancouver wants out of this is a center. That eliminates certain teams right away… because clubs searching for a top-line center aren’t going to trade their second- or third-line guy for Quinn Hughes.

And that brings me to my article for tomorrow…

“Who has a top-line center, and who doesn’t?”

But from where I sit right now… it really appears the teams that will be in the mix are the ones who can actually afford to give up a legitimate top-line center to get Quinn Hughes for the next 18 months.

Who do you think should go after him now… and do you think it’s worth it?