The Vancouver Canucks find themselves in a rough position, having gone 1-5-1 in their last seven games. Their most recent setback was their 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver.
The five-foot-10 blue-liner won the Norris Trophy for the NHL's best defenseman in 2023-24, and with half of this season in the books, he's making another case for himself. Throughout all of the turmoil that the Vancouver Canucks have endured, Hughes' numbers have remained consistent.
Hughes is up to the 50-point mark (12 goals, 38 assists), and he's earned 20 of those points on the power play. He's added 123 shots on net, 41 blocked shots and a plus-13 rating. A 20-goal campaign is still a plausible outcome as Hughes continues to be the cream of the crop among NHL blueliners.
Quinn Hughes scored twice and the struggling Vancouver Canucks edged the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Saturday. Danton Heinen added a goal and J.T. Miller contributed two assists for the Canucks (20-15-10), who came into the game with losses in six of their last seven contests.
Quinn Hughes recorded one of the more bizarre stat lines on Saturday night. The Vancouver Canucks captain scored a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs yet finished the night with zero shots on net. At first glance, this stat line doesn't make a lot of sense, which is why an explanation as to what happened on the play is needed.
Hughes scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Kings.
Elias Pettersson skated with Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk, and was more frequently self-matched with Quinn Hughes against the top end of the Toronto lineup. Frankly, Pettersson’s deployment patterns on Saturday more closely matched how the Canucks have utilized J.T. Miller for much of this season.
The Canucks have struggled since the holiday break. Returning stars should help as the schedule turns difficult.
The Top 100 People of Power & Influence in hockey are featured annually in The Hockey News' Money and Power issue, available at THN.com/free. At No.88 is Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes.
Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes has a brand-new endorsement deal with Oreo and the campaign is awesome.
After yet another loss with the Chicago Blackhawks, Connor Bedard begins feeling homesick. He calls up his friend, Macklin Celebrini, who gives him the idea to request a trade back home. They are joined by other BC-based players such as Sam Reinhart, Mathew Barzal, and Morgan Rielly.