'This one hurts': Fans weigh in on Quinn Hughes trade and whether a Cup will ever be within grasp

The Vancouver Canucks are the worst team in the NHL. They have the worst record in the last 10 games of all 32 teams. It’s getting worse, not better. And on Friday captain Quinn Hughes, in the conversation as the best player this team has had, was traded to Minnesota because management couldn’t convince him to extend his contract in Vancouver. So we asked our fan council for their thoughts so far. Samantha Chang, Jimmy Ghuman, Chris Conte, Haleigh Callison and Ben Ludwig had a discussion about their favourite team.

Did the Canucks get enough for Hughes? Does this make them a better team?

Haleigh Callison: No chance. Other than the fact that he must have told them he’s not re-signing so at least we get something. You can’t replace the best player to have ever played for the Canucks. Gutting. My favourite part of going to a Canucks game is watching him skate.

Ben Ludwig: The more I think about it, I don’t mind it. Zeev Buium is sick, Marco Rossi is second line centre. We now have three centres, a lot of defence and a chance to pick first overall. And now we need to trade (Kiefer) Sherwood.

Jimmy Ghuman: The Wild are in a playoff spot. This is not a good enough a first-round pick. With Hughes in the lineup it will get worse as they’ll be better. Liam Ohgren is a prospect who is not playing all that well. Buium is not an upgrade in D, he could be a stud, but he will in this town forever be compared to Quinn and that will be difficult. Rossi to me is another (Brock) Boeser with better skating ability. The return on this is meh.

Ben: Rossi could be good, maybe just maybe we can rebuild this thing for once. Just need to move Petey now.

Chris Conte: This one hurts. You don’t trade a franchise captain and Norris-level defenceman for a bundle of maybe someday. There’s no cornerstone piece coming back, no player that makes the pain worth it. This is a dark, dark day to be a Canucks fan.

Jimmy: Feels like the (Pavel) Bure trade all over again. Lucky for ownership the team is on the road. If the next home games go bad early, the fan’s reaction could get ugly.

Ben: I like the depth but the work isn’t done yet, have to keep moving players out. Quinn Hughes was never going to win us a cup, you need depth, I think we are a deeper team, just need to add now. Get a better coach, and draft first baby!

Chris: Let’s be clear, the Canucks didn’t trade Quinn Hughes because he wouldn’t re-sign. They traded him because they wrecked the past and left him no reason to stay. When a franchise player sees nothing worth committing to, that’s ownership, management, and years of failure coming due. You’re telling me they let Hughes pick the coach and influence which players stayed or got signed all while knowing he wasn’t going to re-sign 1.5 years ago? Awesome.

Jimmy: I was born into this. I’m always a Canucks fan, but I just I hate this team.

How has this season unfolded?

Jimmy: This season has been a tease. We have good games and a lot of bad. No in between. Started with a great first game against Calgary. Complete game effort. Then we dropped off a little against Edmonton and St. Louis. Just when you’re thinking they aren’t a very good team, they go on a tough five-game road trip and win the first three games and I’m thinking they are going to be OK. That’s when the injuries started, and now it feels just like last season. It’s clear we have less depth than last season, so it feels worse and hopeless.

Chris: Honestly, it’s been a season-long mood swing. Some nights they look like the team we all dreamed about in August — structured, confident, capable of dictating play. Other nights they look like they’re trying to assemble IKEA furniture without the instructions. The highs were real, but the dips have been deeper than expected. So there are flashes of better than what I hoped for, wrapped inside exactly what I worried about.

Ben: I hope that the Canucks finally blow it up and try to build for the future. It’s clear we don’t have the pieces to take a run. Ownership needs to see that this isn’t working and they made a massive mistake years ago chasing the money with playoff revenue. We need depth at centre, can’t be trying to pick up fourth liners all the time in hopes they can play second-line minutes. It would take a miracle for this team to make any kind of run with this forward group. I would try and flip any UFAs to get picks and young players.

Is this team capable of making a run?

Jimmy: My hope for the rest of the season is that we get and stay healthy. At this point I have lost all hope of a playoff run because Edmonton is Edmonton, despite recent struggles. Vegas and Colorado seem to be back in their Stanley Cup-winning form, Dallas and Winnipeg are much better than us, L.A. is better than us and in a playoff spot. Anaheim, Seattle, San Jose and Chicago are all improved and look like they have more upside and future potential than us. Never mind making a playoff run, it feels like we are not even close to the playoff mountain, and even if we get there we can’t seriously compete unless Thatcher Demko carries us.

Samantha: I think they’re capable of making a run for dead last, and I hope they do it. I hope they go 0-51.

How has Elias Pettersson (the original) performed? 

Jimmy: I really like what I am seeing from him. He has stepped up his game defensively and I think he leads the league in blocked shots by forwards. It’s actually really impressive to watch from someone who is expected to be a superstar. He is close to a point a game, but unfortunately he is under. And that’s the problem. At his salary, expectations should be over point a game like when he had 100 points. Although I do like his season and where it’s going overall I do not think we will get the point production we expect until there is a better cast around him with a PP like we had two years ago.

Chris: He’s been a little bit of everything: elite, quiet, brilliant, invisible — sometimes all in the same week. The defensive details are still there, but the swagger comes and goes. He’ll finish with solid numbers, but the bigger question is whether he can flip back into that takeover mode where he bends games to his will. That’s the version this team truly needs.

Ben: Honestly I think defensively he has over performed and he is coming around, he’s not playing with a Martin Necas type player and has been relied on to play in a lot of matchup spots, which takes away from his ability to score more. Do I think he’s playing up to his contract? No, but I do think that he is on the right track.

Samantha: I think Petey’s been good. I think people who are still expecting him to be racking up points like an Art Ross candidate should probably take a strong dose of reality and consider the supporting cast he’s had over his time here.

If allowed to consult on a Patrik Allvin-Jim Rutherford strategy session, what ‘s your advice? 

Jimmy: My advice would be to start the rebuild. Unfortunately all the teams in playoff contention or Stanley Cup conversations are too far ahead of us and we do not have the horses to ever catch up. The prospects are not there and the current core is not deep enough to build around with free agency and prospects. All the younger players coming into the league are better than ever and that’s why the teams bottoming out the last five years already have a brighter future than us. Really this is just not going to work and needs a complete overhaul.

Chris: Three things — and none of them are groundbreaking, which is kind of the point: Figure out your centre depth. Nothing works without stability down the middle. Pick an identity on defence. Are you a puck-moving group? A shutdown group? Right now, they’re whatever the last mistake suggests. Shake up the philosophy — or the bench. The structure cracks too easily, the penalty kill is a recurring tragedy, and the in-game adjustments often show up two periods late. Something needs a reset.

Ben: Blow it up Allvin, the defence core when healthy should be top notch, let’s get a better coaching staff and try to rebuild the forward group.

Samantha: Get a time machine, go back, and retire before agreeing to take the job. This team needs new ownership.

How do you feel watching games? 

Jimmy: It’s been weird watching most games this season. I love our compete level and commitment to defence and blocking shots, but then I see the PK and get frustrated. The injuries and lack of depth lead to more losses and even more frustration.

On the other side of it, I have really enjoyed watching some a lot of the teams we have been playing. A lot of the young guys in the league are younger and better than ever and quicker. It feels like we are starting a new and more exciting era of hockey and this is just the beginning. I feel guilty that when I watch the games, I’m not just excited to be watching the Canucks anymore because I’m looking forward to seeing what the other team’s talent can do.

Chris: Games are still fun, just in a white-knuckle, roller-coaster kind of way. Early in the season there was a spark — now it feels like you’re watching with one eye open, waiting for the next strange bounce or defensive oopsie. I still like going to the rink, but the vibe has shifted from let’s see them rise to the moment, to please don’t unravel in real time.

What’s the timeline to win a Cup? With the right (realistic) moves in the next year or two? Or a right-down-to-the-foundation construction job of 5-plus years?

Samantha: Ha, ha, ha, ha.

Jimmy: Unfortunately, the rest of our conference is too good for this team to be competitive in the next five years. In the five- to 10-year range the upstarts in Anaheim, Chicago and San Jose will be too good for this team to compete with while trying to build with what we have. This team — having only made the playoffs twice in 12 years — will never be built to compete. Right-down-to-the-foundation reconstruction feels like the only move. Vancouver is a hockey town. This is what the fan base has been screaming for for the last 10 years. If ownership and management makes that commitment they won’t have to worry about losing ticket sales. This is what the fan base wants and they will show up to watch and cheer on the young players in a proper rebuild and enjoy the ride and development. Trust the fans and please do the right thing. I don’t want to end up like those Cubs and Red Sox fans who went their entire lives without seeing a championship.

Chris: With smart, aggressive, reality-based moves, you can talk yourself into a two-to-three year window. The core is there — Hughes, Demko, Pettersson, and enough supporting pieces to build something real.

But if they fumble the Hughes contract or keep drifting through an identity crisis, then buckle up: you’re staring at a five-plus year, tear-it-down-to-the-studs renovation.

The next 12 months are basically the franchise standing at a fork in the road — contender on the left, construction zone on the right.

Ben: I don’t see us in the picture for a long while, unless we can rebuild the forward group on the fly — and fast.