Blessed with dynamic young talent in Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, the Vancouver Canucks could’ve also had a blue-chipper on their blue line as well this season.
With his University of Michigan team not doing so hot, Canucks management entertained the idea of calling Quinn Hughes, the seventh-overall pick in the 2018 draft, up to the show.
“There was some internal discussion by the Vancouver Canucks, with his team – Michigan – having a very rough season in the NCAA, ‘Do we ask him if, after the world juniors, does he want to join the Canucks now and turn pro,’” said Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada Saturday.
“They had the discussion internally, they decided not to do it, they said they made a deal and that was they’d talk to him after the season. So even though they discussed it they decided not to approach the player and tempt him in anyway.”
Hughes’ Wolverines sport a 7-7-6 record, but he’s been very productive so far, tallying 20 points and 17 assists in 17 games so far this season.
But while the future of Vancouver’s defence corps won’t be with the team until next season at the earliest, the present of the Canucks blue line looks like it could stick around a little longer.
The Canucks are expected to beging negotiations with unrestricted-free-agent-to-be Alexander Edler on a contract extension.
“We can expect in the next couple of weeks the Canucks to start talking about a contract extension for Alex Edler,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said. “Now, of course, Edler’s made it real clear he’s got a complete no-trade [clause] and even if the Canucks weren’t interested in signing him at the end of the season, he still doesn’t want to get traded, but the good news now is he’s probably playing his best hockey of his last few years and they will sit down and start discussing what it would take to get him on a deal.
“He’s already on $5 million per season and there’s a chance he actually could improve that on an AAV, but I think that it would have to be on a short-term deal.”
Currently in his 13th NHL season, all with Vancouver, Edler leads all Canucks defencemen this season with 19 points and 15 assists.
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