Former Stanley Cup-winning head coach Dan Bylsma needs just two words to describe what it’s like to scheme against Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes.
“It’s scary,” Bylsma told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview Wednesday.
“I don’t think you ever like to say it out loud as a coach, but that’s how it is,” said Bylsma, Hughes’ assistant for Team USA in 2018 and most recently the coach of the Kraken. “It’s unique when you have to scheme against one person’s skill set — it happens with Connor McDavid and a few other players. Quinn is one of those players.”
Hughes, 26, is widely viewed as one of the best defensemen in the league. He has twice topped 15 goals in a season and he’s reached at least 75 points three times, with 2023-24 Norris Trophy campaign representing career-highs of 17 goals and 92 points. This season, Hughes has two goals and 22 points in 25 games.
On Saturday night, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman set off days of speculation and excitement when he reported that the Devils have had “at least one” conversation with the Canucks about acquiring the superstar defenseman, who is a brother of Devils stars Jack and Luke.
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At the time, Friedman stressed that nothing appeared imminent, But on Monday, he updated his report, stating it’s “difficult to handicap” how long it might take a trade to come to fruition. The Devils-Canucks connection was fueled by Quinn referencing Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald by his nickname “Fitzy” when asked about the trade noise.
So, what should we make of the Hughes speculation? Should the Devils pay the price for him, or wait to sign him when his contract expires ($7.85 million per season) in 2027? And if they get him, how might he fit in with their lineup?
“You’re not going to get this chance again,” Bruce Boudreau, another former coach of Hughes, said. “I think he’s the second-best defenseman on the planet.”
What will it cost? Is he worth it?
Boudreau coached the Canucks for nearly two seasons. He knows Hughes better than most and still has close relationships throughout the organization.
What does he think the cost for Quinn will be?
“I gotta believe Vancouver would be wanting (Simon) Nemec, which is fine, I think, even though he’s having a good year,” said Boudreau, who also added that the Canucks would also likely aim high for established stars like Jesper Bratt or Nico Hischier. “They probably need a center, though I don’t know which one you would give up. They’d probably want a draft choice, too.
“But I don’t think any of that equals Quinn Hughes. … I think it’s a no-brainer — whatever the price you have to pay.”
While Devils fans may not be keen on giving up Nemec amid his breakout season (16 points and seven goals in 30 games) or center depth, adding Hughes is exactly the kind of “all-in” move that elevates a team. Fitzgerald might need to strike a deal of this magnitude to save his job.
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The Devils are 4-8-0 over their past 12 games, and at 17-12-1 overall, they are outside the playoff picture after sitting atop the Eastern Conference for nearly a month. They were on a five-game winless streak before they gutted out a win at the Senators on Tuesday. Injuries, namely to Jack Hughes, haven’t helped, but the extent of their struggles is worrisome.
That is perhaps the best argument for acquiring Quinn Hughes. Adding a tone-setting defenseman — who has the sixth-best Corsi for percentage in the NHL from 2022 to 2025 — to a team desperate for another offensive-minded star would raise the floor of the current team and make them lethal once Jack Hughes returns.
“Well, the Devils aren’t going anywhere now,” Boudreau said with a laugh when asked if the Devils should do “whatever it takes” to trade for Quinn. “The goal, I’ve always thought — and I used to get a lot of push back here — is to win the Cup. If you’ve got a team where everybody’s not too old and you’ve got a chance to win the Cup in the next year or two and you can get a guy like that, you’ve got to go get him.”
Bylsma agreed, citing Quinn’s superb zone entry skills and proficiency on the power play as two reasons to part with any asset to get him.
“Quinn is an elite player,” Bylsma said. “I want to say one of a kind, but he’s an exceptional player. You should do everything you possibly can to get those types of players on your team.”
The follow-up question to all of this is obvious: Why not just wait to sign Hughes in 2027? All three brothers have admitted they want to play with each other in the NHL. The landing spot would almost certainly be New Jersey.
The contention window in the NHL is short and fleeting. Sure, the Devils’ core players are relatively young and still signed to value contracts for multiple years, but players like Hischier, Bratt and Jack Hughes have already been in the league for nearly a decade and the Devils only have one second-round appearance to show for it.
“Too many teams are going, ‘Oh, that’s too much to pay,’” Boudreau said. “But if it’s going to make your team better in the long run and you take a little hit on it right now but he can win you the Cup, you make the move.”
Boudreau also thought about this from Vancouver’s side. He thinks it’s “inevitable” that Hughes winds up playing for the Devils, so he believes it would behoove the Canucks to seek the best possible return.
“Well, I mean, if (playing with his brothers is) what he really wants to do, then, yes,” Boudreau said when asked directly if he thinks it’s “inevitable” that Quinn lands in New Jersey. “So you better get your best haul for him if you’re Vancouver when you can.”
How he fits with the Devils
How would Hughes fit in with the Devils? Should they really set their sights on another defenseman while their needs for a top-six wing and a third-line center remain so glaring?
“A player like Quinn can fix a lot, no matter what your needs are,” Bylsma said. “When you don’t have a player like that, you’re dying to get them. And when you’ve got them, you’ve gotta understand you have an elite player that can be a difference maker for your team.
“New Jersey’s talking about this. Every team should be talking about getting Quinn Hughes.”
Both coaches agreed: Hughes would mask some of the Devils’ most glaring woes.
New Jersey’s offense struggles in the absence of Jack? Quinn would provide instant relief with his sixth-most shots per game (2.84) and 11th-most points among defensemen this season (22).
New Jersey’s blueline looks leaky without Brett Pesce? Quinn Hughes would provide at least some comfort in the back end. Boudreau gushed about Hughes’ willingness to face some of the toughest defensive challenges in the NHL.
“He was the kind of guy that would come to me before a game and say, ‘Put me out against McDavid, I want to play against McDavid. I want to play against the best guys,’” Boudreau said. “He wants challenges all the time and he wants to be the best.”
How would three puck-dominant players like Jack, Luke and Quinn gel in the same lineup?
“The good news for other teams is there’s only one puck,” Bylsma said. “They all can’t have it on their stick at the same time. I would be very, very curious to see how that would work to have the three of them on the ice together. They all want the puck on their stick.”
Forget the obvious on-ice fit: How might the dynamic of three brothers in one locker room be? A trio of brothers playing for the same team is extremely rare in the NHL, with the most recent example being the Staal brothers (2012-13 Hurricanes). Each Hughes brother also has a very unique personality. Might this create an issue for other players?
“I think it would be pretty easy,” said Boudreau, who knows father Jim Hughes from his AHL coaching days with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL). “They’re not going to gang up on anybody and they’re not the kind of people that say, ‘Hey, listen, you do it our way or we’re not going to do it.’ That’s not them.”
Fitzgerald has until the March 6, 3 p.m. trade deadline to make the Hughes brothers’ lifelong dream come true this season. If he does, the Devils should get, in Boudreau’s words, a “boon” in their odds to win this year’s Stanley Cup.
“If the three of them were together, they would want to win a Cup more than anybody in the world,” Boudreau said. “I can say that. I think they’re imagining three Hughes brothers on one team winning the Stanley Cup. It would be pretty incredible.”