NHL insider doubles down: Rangers will ‘take a swing’ at Quinn Hughes trade
Two days after reporting that the New York Rangers will be in on Quinn Hughes, should the Vancouver Canucks decide to follow through and trade their captain, Dave Pagnotta doubled down on his original take.
The NHL insider first mentioned the Rangers interest in Hughes on Monday.
“With all the attention on the New Jersey Devils and Quinn Hughes lately – and yes, the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers have been lumped in there, too – another team to look out for is the New York Rangers,” Pagnotta wrote in The Fourth Period. “That would allocate a lot of dollars to their backend, but it wouldn’t shock me to see the Blueshirts taking a swing.”
Given a chance by co-hosts Jonny Lazarus and Colby Cohen to walk back his take on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast Wednesday, Pagnotta remained firm in his belief that the Rangers are seriously interested in the All-Star defenseman.
“Do I think it’s going to happen tomorrow? No. Do I think he’s going to be a New York Ranger? I don’t know yet. It’s still way too early in that process,” Pagnotta explained. “But in terms of teams that I anticipate to be in the mix in a more serious rather than just poking around type of situation, I think the Rangers are going to be one of them with where they’re at, with the owner they’ve got, and with a clear lack of desire to go through a rebuild. I think the New York Rangers … are one of those teams that will try to step up to this.”
Pagnotta admitted most, if not all, general managers will check in with their Canucks counterpart Patrik Allvin to see if the Canucks really would trade Hughes, the 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner as top defenseman in the NHL.
However, Pagnotta’s bigger point is that only a select group of team would be in serious pursuit of the 26-year-old. And the Rangers are in that mix.
“I think this is a team that’s going to be interested in actually making an attempt to acquire him.”
NHL insider believes Rangers would love to ‘get their hands on Quinn Hughes’
The Canucks are in freefall for the second straight season, just two years after they finished first in the Pacific Division. They traded J.T. Miller to the Rangers on Jan. 31 last season, and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now, the Canucks (11-16-3) are last in the NHL standings, and let other teams know they’re willing to discuss possible trades involving their pending free agents.
Hughes is under contract at a very affordable $7.85 million annually through the 2026-27 season. So, he is not a pending free agent. However, with all the talk about Hughes leaving to possibly reunite with brothers Jack and Luke with the New Jersey Devils in two summers, and no belief that he’ll stay long term in Vancouver, the Canucks likely want to end the distraction, cut the cord, and move him sooner rather than later. Especially considering their poor on-ice performance.
Pierre Lebrun stated this week on TSN that moving Hughes ahead of the March 6 trade deadline likely affords the Canucks the best return package. But is this the type trade the Rangers even have an appetite for?
In the immediate short term, it’d be a boon to land Hughes with Adam Fox on LTIR with an upper-body injury. But no deal of this magnitude will come together that quickly, and Fox isn’t expected to be sidelined for months. In fact, Fox is skating on his own, and misses his fifth game Wednesday when the Rangers visit the Chicago Blackhawks.
A potential Hughes trade is fascinating to consider for the Rangers. His addition would give New York a top four on defense featuring Fox with Vladislav Gavrikov, and Hughes with Will Borgen. That’d be among the best in the League. But are there enough minutes and high-end responsibility to keep Fox and Hughes — each a Norris Trophy winner — content? And what about sinking all that cap space on those two and Gavrikov on the backend?
Plus any trade likely weakens the Rangers at the forward position, assuming Alexis Lafreniere and/or Gabe Perreault are part of the return.
Nonetheless, it’s an intriguing topic to ponder, and rumor to follow. And let’s see as things progress if Pagnotta is spot on about how deeply the Rangers get involved.
“I would not be surprised if they not just inquire, but take a swing and see if they can get their hands on Quinn Hughes.”
