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Quinn Hughes Publicly Shares His Doubts About the Vancouver Canucks: "Let's Be Honest"

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 2:58 PM ET

The Vancouver Canucks are looking to bounce back in 2025/26, but ahead of the season, captain Quinn Hughes has shared some doubts about the team.

2024/25 was a disaster for the Vancouver Canucks, with the team clearly effected by all the drama that surrounded their locker room, as they took a major step back after a Stanley Cup Playoffs run the season prior.

Now, they've moved on from J.T. Miller and added plenty of talent and balance this off-season, with the team entering the new year expecting to be competing for a spot in the post-season in the highly competitive Pacific Division.

Captain's Candid Quote Reveals Vancouver's Mindset Shift

In 2023/24 when this team made a push, they were full of talent, but now, captain Quinn Hughes has opened up on their mindset in an interview with Sportsnet, showing just how much that has shifted.

Let's be honest: we're not going to be the most-skilled team, but we can have the hardest-working team. We can have a team. I mean, you look at Florida and they have a ton of talent, but they're a team. And that's something we can be.

Can the Canucks Outwork Opponents Despite Skill Concerns?

Despite these comments, the Canucks are still a very good team, but the once talented, high-powered offense will now need to transform into a team that outworks opponents and grinds their way to wins.

With the addition of Evander Kane and others in recent times, it's easy to see where this mentality shift has come from, and with the players to win games in multiple different ways, this is a team that's still got very high hopes in 2025/26.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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