The recent chatter surrounding the Detroit Red Wings and Quinn Hughes is mildly surprising. For starters, the Red Wings weren’t really considered as frontrunners to land the Vancouver Canucks captain.
But then again, Hughes’ connection to Michigan could be a compelling factor. Hughes attended the University of Michigan during his NCAA career. That connection alone, however, may not be enough to entice the superstar blueliner to sign long-term in Detroit.
After all, that’s the whole point. Trading for Hughes is one thing. But the crux of landing the former Norris Trophy winner is to ink him to a long-term deal.
As we saw with Kyle Connor, who was born and raised in Michigan, ties to the state alone are not enough to entice a player to join the Red Wings. But even if those ties were significant enough, trading for Hughes might do more harm than good for the Red Wings.
The biggest issue lies in the price the Red Wings would have to pay for Quinn Hughes
My colleague Bob Heyrman posited in this piece that the Red Wings could have to pony up Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Emmitt Finnie, and Sebastian Cossa to land Hughes.
All right, let’s stop the presses for a minute. From Vancouver’s perspective, that haul looks fantastic. Axel Sandin-Pellikka may not be a direct replacement for Hughes, but he could anchor the Canucks’ blue line for years to come.
Emmitt Finnie is the sort of player Vancouver has lacked in their top six. He could reinvigorate the club, particularly with Elias Pettersson failing to be a consistent top-line center. While Finnie wouldn’t be a top-line pivot, he could generate the playmaking that Pettersson has failed to deliver.
As for Sebastian Cossa, he could take over for the oft-injured Thatcher Demko. Looks good for Vancouver. But that’s assuming that the Red Wings' organization believes Trey Augustine is their future guy.
Then, there are the two first-rounders heading to the Canucks. Yes, they’re lottery tickets. But boy, those lottery tickets can pay off sometimes.
This commentary is not to criticize my colleague. Rather, I agree with him. The price the Red Wings would have to pay could be astronomical. And therein lies the issue. Trading so many good pieces for Hughes could end up doing much more harm than good.
Red Wings fans would stomach a Moritz Seider-for-Quinn Hughes deal, a 1-for-1 swap, much more than sending five high-end pieces. The Canucks will clean up in a Hughes trade. But the Red Wings should let another desperate team trash their future to get Hughes.
Detroit can just sidestep the carnage and hold onto its current pieces. They may not be the sexiest names on the market, but the Red Wings have a much better shot at long-term success than making such a significant bet on Hughes.
Now is not the right time for this trade. The Red Wings aren’t close to a Stanley Cup at the moment. Perhaps in two years, when Hughes is set to become a UFA, the deal could make far more sense.