Canucks’ Quinn Hughes responds to Jack’s comments about wanting to play together

Questions about Quinn Hughes’ long-term future in Vancouver have been the driving story through this summer. On Tuesday, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes added fuel to the fire by saying he’d love to play alongside Quinn down the line.’

Now, we have Quinn Hughes’ response, per Matt Larkin. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Vancouver Canucks captain settled the waters in his trademark no-nonsense fashion:

“I mean, he’s my brother. What’s he supposed to say, first of all? ‘I don’t want to play with him?’ But you just said it. I mean, we have contracts and whatnot. He’s on a different team. Would it be fun to play with those guys at some point? Of course. I think if you guys have brothers, you guys would say the same thing. But we do have contracts. I’m excited to be in Vancouver, and I feel like last year was a little bit of failure. So I feel like I got things to do there. And I know Jack loves, he loves Jersey, and he’s got stuff to do also.”

While it seems like every statement Quinn Hughes makes these days is overanalyzed to death, hopefully, this one can be read as straightforward. Currently, the defenceman’s focus is on the upcoming season with the Canucks. Still reeling from a turbulent season last year that ended in a missed playoff berth, a season he’s not afraid to call a failure, Hughes is determined to get Vancouver back on track this year.

He does concede that he would one day like the opportunity to play alongside his brothers, but considering how young they all are in their careers, that could very well be 10 years from now. For all we know, Jack could come to Vancouver when his contract expires in five years, same for Luke, who is currently in contract negotiations with the Devils.

While anxiety about Quinn Hughes’ future seems high right now, hopefully, this eases some concerns about where the captain’s head is at going into this season. As he has said before, he’s unable to sign an extension until next summer, so right now it’s all about the upcoming season.