With the Vancouver Canucks going through a brutal stretch in the 2025-26 NHL season, Quinn Hughes’ future has become the talk of the town. Not just in British Columbia, but all over the continent. The noise is particularly loud in The Garden State, where a key teammate of Jack and Luke Hughes on the New Jersey Devils seen by many as the likely odd man out if New Jersey pursued a deal for Quinn.
In the NHL—as in life—nothing comes free. There is a price to pay, and even the languishing Canucks can demand to be compensated accordingly for their best player, Hughes. On that note, not even the Devils—who would complete the Hughes brothers gauntlet with Quinn’s addition—will get to use a discount coupon.
If New Jersey wants to be taken seriously by Vancouver, it must be willing to give up a key piece in return. Most reports indicate defenseman Simon Nemec could be part of the package sent to the Canucks. Thus, in addition to the stress caused by the NHL season, the former 2nd overall pick in 2022 must deal with the anxious fear of potentially being relocated at any given moment. However, when the 21-year-old talent was asked about the recent rumors, he voiced a very mature answer.
“I mean it’s part of being a hockey player,” Nemec admitted, via NJ.com. “Something could always happen. I’m trying not to think about it. I don’t know if it’s true or something. I’m just trying to play hockey and I will see how everything turns out.”
Simon Nemec during a game with the NJ Devils
Sheldon Keefe’s message to the team
After a great start to the 2025-26 NHL season, the Devils have hit a slump. New Jersey has now lost five straight games—being shut out in two of them—and is clearly missing Jack Hughes, who has yet to make an appearance after suffering a freak accident during a team dinner.
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With their best player out indefinitely and the loud noise surrounding a potential move for arguably the best defenseman in the league, the Devils have a lot on their plates. Being successful in the NHL regular season is all about riding the peaks and valleys, and it sure seems New Jersey needs its coaching staff to bring stability now more than ever. On that note, head coach Sheldon Keefe voiced a powerful comment on cancelling the outside noise.
“For me, to keep them focused is just to keep them focused,” Keefe stated per NJ.com. “We don’t talk about any of that sort of stuff. It’s out of our control as coaches and players. Stuff that goes on in the periphery is just that — noise at this point. Now more than ever we need to stay focused. Anytime that sort of stuff gets out and players overthink it, it can be a challenging situation.”
Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes during 2024 NHL All-Star
Update on Jack Hughes
As the Devils hope to have their alternate captain back on the lineup as soon as possible, Keefe and company know better than to rush Hughes’ recovery. “He’s been out on the ice, he was out there again today,” Keefe said about Jack Hughes on Monday. “I would say he’s on schedule but he’s far enough away that they don’t even tell me how he’s doing, I just know because I know what he’s up to.”
The initial timeline on Hughes’ injury suggested an eight-week absence. Halfway through that stretch, the Devils are pleased to see Hughes back on the ice. However, he is still wearing a cast on the pinky finger he injured. As a result, Hughes can’t hold a stick yet, and thus New Jersey is still in the dark when it comes to effectively evaluating how far along he truly is in his recovery.
Needless to say, the Devils can’t sit around and wait for Hughes to return for them to snap their current five-game losing hex. With or without Jack Hughes, New Jersey must get back on track—and it seems it will have to be the latter.
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