Vancouver captain zeroed in on playoff return, Olympics rather than potentially joining Devils

HENDERSON, Nev. — Quinn Hughes can handle the noise.

The Vancouver Canucks captain showed it again at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour, dealing with the latest headlines and reiterating his commitment to helping Vancouver return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This story goes back to April 21, when Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said the team would do everything it could to keep Hughes but, “he’s said before he wants to play with his brothers.”

Hughes has two seasons left on his contract and isn’t eligible to sign another one until July 1, 2026. But his future already is an issue with his brothers, Jack and Luke, playing for the New Jersey Devils.

When Jack Hughes sat down with a group of reporters Tuesday, the subject came up.

“Honestly, I’m not afraid to say it,” Jack told the group, according to The Athletic. “Yeah, I would love for Quinn to … eventually, I’d love to play with him. And whether that’s in New Jersey or at what time that takes, at some point, I want to play with Quinn. But yeah, that’s the question going around. They talk all day about it up in Vancouver, you know?”

That cranked up the volume even more.

When Quinn did a series of interviews Wednesday, he had to address it multiple times.

“Jack didn’t bring it up, obviously, and I think that’s the normal response,” Quinn told NHL.com. “He’s not going to say he doesn’t want to play with me. We’re very, very close, so it’d be really fun to play with him at some point. But he absolutely loves Jersey, and I’m doing my thing in Vancouver.”

Keep this in mind: The Canucks named Quinn captain almost exactly two years ago, on Sept. 11, 2023, at age 23. He has taken it seriously ever since.

“It meant a lot when Jim gave me the keys to the team pretty much, to the city, a couple years ago,” Quinn said. “He’s got a lot of belief in me, and thank him for that, and so I just want to repay that.”

The noise was deafening last season. The Canucks sustained several injuries, and a rift between centers Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller led to Miller being traded to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31. Vancouver missed the playoffs.

Quinn dealt with injuries himself, including a torn ligament in his hand, a torn oblique and a groin problem. After he had 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games in 2023-24 — winning the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL — he had 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists) in 68 games and finished third in Norris voting.

“I was proud of myself last year, just because there was so much going on,” Quinn said. “But my game never dipped, and I felt like I was able to play at a high level.”

Vancouver came first. Quinn had a chance to play with Jack for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, but he told U.S. general manager Bill Guerin he couldn’t come because of the oblique injury.

“He understood how much I wanted to play and also what my obligations were to the Canucks,” Quinn told reporters then. “Really what it came down to, I just wasn’t healthy enough where I wasn’t sure that I could get worse, and I felt like I couldn’t be crawling back to Vancouver at the end of that tournament where now I’m missing more Canucks games.”

Vancouver comes first now too. Quinn was one of the first six players named to the United States roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Jack is likely to make the team, and Luke Hughes also is a candidate to make it.

The brothers want to play together, of course. The three of them never have been on the same team.

“Yeah, that’d be crazy,” Quinn told NHL.com at the United States Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp in Plymouth, Michigan, on Aug. 27. “So hopefully we get the chance.”

Quinn desperately wants to play in the Olympics regardless, especially after missing the 4 Nations. At the same time, though, he said he wasn’t worried about the Olympics too much yet.

“I am worried about Vancouver, especially with how hectic of a season it was there last year,” he said. “We want to get that back on the rails.”

Quinn is confident, and he’s able to turn down the volume at least in his own head.

“I think it’s a hockey market and a lot of pressure, but I don’t think he feels that just because of the kind of guy he is and what he’s made of and how competitive he is,” Jack told NHL.com on Tuesday. “I think he’s a guy that can just simplify his thoughts and quiet his mind down and just be like, ‘All I have to do is perform and play well, and I can’t control the rest.’ I think that’s kind of what makes him stay focused throughout the year.”