Did the Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations commit some tampering on Monday? By the letter of the law, maybe. But, more importantly, he likely caused some unnecessary drama for the most important player on his team.
The Canucks have a lot of needs to address in the offseason, as the team must address their forward group after finishing 23rd in the NHL in goals and 31st in shots on goal.
But the team’s biggest need of all is a simple one: they need to keep Quinn Hughes happy.
"This franchise cannot afford to lose a guy like Quinn Hughes"
The Canucks’ captain has two years remaining on his current contract, after which he’ll be an unrestricted free agent. That means he’ll be eligible to sign a contract extension after next season. If he doesn’t sign an extension then, there will be some very nervous nights the following season.
In other words, the Canucks need to prove to Hughes this coming season that they can create a Stanley Cup-contending team around him. As much as he loves Vancouver, it would be tough for him to stay with a team that has made the playoffs just twice in his career.
Rutherford made it clear that keeping Hughes in Vancouver long-term is a priority, saying, “This franchise cannot afford to lose a guy like Quinn Hughes.”
He also noted, however, that there’s a limit on how much of that is within their control.
“The one thing that we will be sure of is that we will have enough cap space to offer him the kind of contract that he deserves,” said Rutherford. “That’s the one thing we can prepare for. It may not boil down to money with him.”
"He wants to play with his brothers"
That’s when Rutherford went a bit too far.
“He said before, he wants to play with his brothers,” said Rutherford. “That would be partly out of our control — in our control, if we brought his brothers here.”
, you can’t do that.
Hughes has two brothers in the NHL, both of whom play for the New Jersey Devils. And you can’t talk about wanting to acquire players under contract to another team. That’s tampering.
In the NHL, tampering is serious business. At a base level, tampering means an executive talking to a player under contract to another team and attempting to persuade them to join their team. But it goes beyond that type of backroom deal, as even expressing an interest in a player without talking to them or their agent directly can be considered tampering.
The idea is that a player who knows another team is interested in him is more likely to eschew signing with their current team and test free agency.
"I probably crossed the line"
Rutherford’s comment was likely intended as a joke, but it’s easy to see how it could be problematic. Since, Luke Hughes is in need of a new contract this offseason, he could, in theory negotiate a contract that walks him directly to free agency knowing that the Canucks could empty their coffers to sign him in the future.
It’s perhaps a bit farfetched, especially with Jack Hughes signed through 2030 and likely requiring half the Canucks’ roster in a trade, but the NHL has taken a hard line with tampering in recent months.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly went out of his way back in November to reiterate to general managers the consequences for tampering, with teams facing up to $5 million in fines, forfeiture of draft picks, termination of any contracts signed as a result of the tampering, and penalties paid to the “offended” team. Meanwhile, the individual responsible for the tampering can receive up to a $1 million fine and face suspension or expulsion from the league.
Are any of those consequences likely to befall Rutherford? Perhaps not, as the respect he’s garnered across three decades as an NHL executive would likely protect him. But he was definitely aware that he might have overstepped.
“Well, we’ve got to be careful with tampering, so we’ll just leave it at that,” said Rutherford when a reporter followed up on bringing the two other Hughes brothers to Vancouver. “I probably crossed the line, anyway.”
Never mind the tampering, here's the real issue
Even if Rutherford does get fined, there’s a bigger issue: he opened a big can of worms for his captain. By telling the media that Hughes wants to play with his brothers, it will undoubtedly raise questions for Hughes in the coming months.
Hughes has said before that would be “really cool.”
“Of course, everyone wants to play with their brothers in the NHL. That’s the dream,” said Hughes to The Athletic’s Thomas Drance back in 2021. “You ask the Tkachuks or the Staals, they actually did it.”
But Hughes immediately followed that up by expressing his commitment to the Canucks.
“I like Vancouver a lot and that’s why I signed for six years. I’m really grateful to the Aquilini family, they’ve taken care of me and my family, too,” said Hughes. “I like it here, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m committed here long term. I love it here and I want to win here. There’s something about the team that drafts you. You want to do well for them. I feel like I owe them my best, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
That was long before Hughes was named captain of the Canucks and, in the years since, Hughes has repeatedly emphasized his commitment to staying in Vancouver.
While fans might have speculated about Hughes leaving in free agency in two years when his contract is up, there was no tangible reason to suspect that he wanted to be anywhere other than Vancouver. And then Rutherford provided one.
That immediately led to headlines like, “.”
In other words, Rutherford provided fuel for the "he wants out" fire. You can bet that the next time Hughes speaks to the media, he’s going to be asked about Rutherford’s comments, forcing him to reiterate once again that he loves Vancouver and will never leave, like he’s the boyfriend of an insecure partner.
At a time when Hughes has said all he wants is to get away from the game, shut off his phone, and relax — especially after a season that was so tumultuous — the drama won't let him be.
Really, the responsibility is on Rutherford and Allvin to build a Cup-contending team to keep Hughes in Vancouver rather than pie-in-the-sky ideas of acquiring his brothers. And it would be helpful if they avoided repeatedly with their comments.
