Canucks' Original Ask From Devils For Quinn Hughes Revealed

Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild defenseman, gets high-fives from the Wild bench after scoring a goal

The New Jersey Devils came close, but no cigar, in the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes. Now we're learning more about what went down, and how much the Devils were in the game.

New Jersey was Hughes' first choice, as he has professed a desire to play with his brothers Luke & Jack, who are both with the Devils.

But the Vancouver Canucks' first choice of a return from New Jersey was quickly turned down.

Insider Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reports that Vancouver first asked for top-line center Nico Hischier.

According to an NHL source, there were discussions between the teams about Devils center Nico Hischier, their 26-year-old captain... New Jersey didn't have interest in that swap.

Hischier, a two-time 30-goal scorer and five-time 20+ goal scorer, is in Year 6 of a 7-year contract, with a $7.25 million AAV. He could become an unrestricted free agent in 2027, if not signed to an extension before then. Acquiring him would have left the Canucks in a similar predicament they were in with Hughes, who was also set to be a UFA in 2027. A moot point, though, as the Devils were not going to trade Hischier.

In the end, the eventual New Jersey offer of Simon Nemec, Dawson Mercer, KHL defenseman Anton Silayev, and a first-round pick "was crafted with the understanding that Hughes was likely to sign an extension with the Devils," wrote Wyshynski.

However, GM Tom Fitzgerald couldn't clear out the necessary cap space to make the deal work, mostly due to the fact that they had a couple of deals vetoed by players with no-move/no-trade clauses.