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Canucks’ July 1 was a big day for ‘Mission: Extend Hughes’

Originally posted on Canucksarmy | By Stephan Roget | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 8:00 PM ET

There are those in the Vancouver Canucks fan base, and media sphere, who believe that the team’s only real goal right now should be convincing Quinn Hughes to stay in Vancouver beyond his current contract’s expiration in 2027.

It’s not too hard to figure out the thinking behind the notion. Few would now dispute Hughes’ status as the greatest player to ever wear the Canucks uniform. The team’s best chance to win, then, should naturally coincide with that player’s time on the team, and especially their playing prime. Hughes is smack-dab in the middle of his prime right now.

If Hughes is unwilling to or unable to be re-signed, the priorities obviously shift – either to getting as much value as can be had for him in a trade, or desperately trying to win it all while he’s still here. But until that bridge is crossed, those on board with this line of thinking are adamant about ‘Mission: Extend Hughes’ being the only thing that really matters.

Heck, read between the lines of some statements made by POHO Jim Rutherford this summer already, and there’s an argument to be made that the Canucks’ front office is largely in this camp themselves.

Priorities are always up for debate. But what can’t be debated is that, for those who truly believe in the utmost importance of re-signing Hughes, July 1 was a very good day.

Within the span of a few hours, the Canucks announced the extensions of Thatcher Demko, Conor Garland, and, most surprisingly of all, Brock Boeser. After briefly testing the market, Boeser is back for another seven years. So, too, is Garland, who signed a six-year deal that kicks in as of 2026/27. Demko, meanwhile, signed a three-year extension, also set to begin in 2026/27.

The wisdom, dollar value, and overall likelihood of success when it comes to these three signings is very much up in the air and will no doubt continue to be hotly contested throughout the duration of the contracts. But do each of them move the needle toward Hughes eventually re-upping with the Canucks? The answer to that is almost certainly ‘yes.’

It’s no surprise that Hughes is close with all three players. He and Boeser have been described as ‘best friends’ at various times, and both of them have always seemed tight with Demko. Garland (partially) named his son after Hughes.

Are they as close to Hughes as his brothers Jack and Luke in New Jersey? No, probably not. But they might be the next best thing, and that’s literally visually apparent on social media:

Via The Nation Network

Instagram

There’s really two sides to this coin. Or maybe three, but then that’d be a pretty weird coin.

On the one hand, it’s hard to not see these re-signings as a commitment by the Canucks to (attempt to) remain competitive throughout Hughes’ prime. There’s no rebuild or retool on the horizon here. The Canucks are doubling down on their veteran core, and it’s a core of players that all appear to want to stay here and continue to operate under Hughes’ leadership.

Both these players and the team that signed them are demonstrating dedication to the Hughes Plan. That may not encourage him to re-sign any more than he was willing to before, but it certainly won’t discourage him. It’s easy to imagine, on the other hand, that having all three of Boeser, Demko, and Garland depart would have potentially discouraged Hughes’ re-signing.

On the other hand, one has to believe that all three of these players were willing to extend with the Canucks because, in part, they think there’s a good chance of Hughes sticking around. His teammates know better than anyone how important Hughes is to the team and their success, and what a disaster it would be for the franchise were he to leave.

Here, we come back to the players’ closeness.

Demko said, “Thank you, sweet baby Jesus, thank you” on social media in regards to Boeser’s re-signing. Garland, meanwhile, expressed a lack of surprise and hinted that the players had all been discussing their desire to stay in Vancouver for a while before actually signing these extensions.

It’s very difficult to believe that Hughes wouldn’t have been involved in these discussions. And it’s pretty difficult to believe that these three would be as gung-ho about it all if they truly believed that Hughes was likely to leave.

The third, and final, point we’ll make here is that negotiating with players who want to be in Vancouver is always going to be a positive, economically speaking. All three of these contracts, whether one agrees with them on the whole or not, were signed at or below market value. Signing players who want to be here both saves money (for that eventual Hughes extension, see?) and increases the positive vibes around the team itself. It’s a real win-win on the ‘keeping Hughes’ front.

Nothing is certain, of course, and a lot can change in a year – and it will be a full year before the Canucks are even allowed to talk extension with Hughes.

But that doesn’t mean Hughes himself needs to wait a year to start thinking about his future plans. For those who hope those future plans include his being a Canuck for life, a day in which his three best pals were extended into the foreseeable future has to be seen as a significant day.

On July 1, 2025, Boeser, Demko, and Garland chose Vancouver over the possibility of seeking out more in other markets (more salary for Boeser and Garland, more term for Demko). In doing so, a mutual commitment was made – between players and the team, and between the team and its players. One could also see it as another major step in the overall commitment to ‘Mission: Extend Hughes,’ and perhaps the largest one yet.

Will it wind up making a difference? To find that out, we may have to wait around until July 1, 2026.

This article first appeared on Canucksarmy and was syndicated with permission.

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