Red Wings Dropped Ball On Acquiring Quinn Hughes

When Quinn Hughes was in talks to be traded from the Vancouver Canucks, there wasn't just one or two teams, Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils, that he would have liked to go to. At the very least, there was another, the Detroit Red Wings, that the star defenseman would have also been happy playing for until his contract is up.

Elliotte Friedman said, "Hughes wanted to go to the Red Wings. They were one of the teams he was very interested in, but Steve Yzerman wasn't doing that without an extension." There can be a good argument made for and against this decision.

Starting with the argument against the decision not to acquire Hughes without an extension, the Red Wings haven't made the playoffs in nine years. Yes, acquiring him would definitely put them over the top to stay in the spot they hold, but many have no playoff experience and may need some before making a deep and serious run to the Stanley Cup.

Mixed with the assets it would have taken to acquire Hughes, a good portion of the future/present would be packaged away for a player to play 1.5 seasons with the team most likely. Now, if an extension was going to be in play, that's a different story and the cost would be worth it. It's too early for Hughes to even sign an extension as he would have to wait until July 1 this year to do so. One of Simon Edvinsson or Axel Sandin Pellikka would have had to be in the deal, and they haven't reached their potential yet, nor are they able to leave as soon as Hughes.

The argument for acquiring Hughes is the Red Wings are a top-5 team in the NHL, finally have some goaltending, have a good mix of veteran and young talent, and have plenty of cap space to add even more. The fanbase and organization have been waiting for the Yzerplan to come together and it seems like it is finally doing so. Anything can happen year-to-year. Look at the Winnipeg Jets, from first to 31st. So teams would do well to take advantage of this success, especially when it has been building for many years and this is where the team is expected to be after a nine-year rebuild.

The Red Wings likely won't have a chance to get Hughes unless the Wild don't think they can sign him and decide to trade him. But again, this would have to come with an extension if Detroit is going to give up what Hughes costs.