‘It’s still a year away’: Canucks’ Quinn Hughes hasn’t made a decision about his long-term future

We’re still 10 months away from Quinn Hughes’ eligibility to sign a contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks, but the captain’s future with the team is top of mind for many fans.

Right now, the 25-year-old defenceman is focused solely on the year ahead. Ahead of the upcoming season, Hughes spoke with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre and shared where his head is at going into training camp.

“Every year brings its different challenges,” Hughes said. “Two of my best buddies (Canuck teammates Conor Garland and Brock Boeser) just signed in Vancouver long-term. I will say last year was not fun; it just wasn’t. But I’m a really competitive guy … and last year was a failure, so I’m trying to bring my best. Try to be a great leader and help my team get in the playoffs. Who knows what we can do and who knows how I’ll be feeling this time next year? It’s still a year away.”

While the prospect of Hughes leaving Vancouver is a scary one for Canucks fans, the key here is that it’s still a ways away. For now, the blue liner is focused on getting the team back on track, and that includes keeping out distractions for his teammates in his third year as captain.

“As far as the noise around my teammates, I’m going to try to help everyone else, too, and be as good a leader as I can be,” he added. “Noise doesn’t bother me. It’s a long year, and I’m just going to be day-to-day and focus on the short term. That’s the truth, honestly.”

Last season saw a huge restructuring of the Canucks’ roster amidst locker room issues and injury troubles. With training camp on the horizon, Hughes is focused on what’s next and ready to leave what happened behind him.

“You definitely don’t want to live in the past,” Hughes said. “We’re already on a new season and that’s where my head is at, and probably after this interview I won’t be talking about last season again. It took me a while (to get over it) because it was really disappointing. More than that, it was just really not fun. It was an exhausting year. But I really do think it’s going to make everyone in our group stronger—mentally stronger. Hopefully, everyone has trained hard and is ready to go. I know I am.”

After missing the playoffs last year, just about everyone in Vancouver is ready to leave last season behind. And while the uncertainty of Hughes’ long-term future may cause some anxiety over the coming year, it’s the furthest thing from the defenceman’s mind. Right now, that may be the best thing for both him and the team.

You can read the full article from MacIntyre, with more quotes from Hughes, by clicking here!