Quinn Hughes doesn’t take his responsibilities as captain lightly.
The Vancouver Canucks defenseman admitted Wednesday the pressure that comes with the “C” has, at times, been a lot to handle this season.
“This team named me captain, and I feel obligated to be a successful team here. That weighs heavily on me; I want to do something here,” Hughes told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.
The Canucks named Hughes captain before last season after Bo Horvat was traded at the 2023 deadline.
“They made me captain,” Hughes said. “Are you going to do what you said you would do? Are you going to help the situation and make this a successful organization? Obviously, one guy can’t do that. But I definitely feel obligated, where that weighs heavy on my mind that they entrusted me with that.”
Hughes has delivered on his end. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman with a career-high 92 points last year while leading the club to its third-best regular season ever.
The Canucks reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
The 25-year-old has followed with another strong season. He’s recorded a team-leading 74 points – 25 more than second-leading scorer Brock Boeser – despite missing 14 games due to injury.
Hughes will likely receive Norris Trophy consideration again this year.
As a team, though, the Canucks have struggled. Vancouver was officially eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday.
“This year has been hard, and I want to find a way to put us in a situation where we can be really successful and ultimately win (a Stanley Cup),” Hughes said. “I appreciate the fans and the fact that there’s never been a Cup in Vancouver. I definitely think about that quite a bit as well.”
The 2024-25 season has been challenging for Vancouver. Hughes admitted earlier that the Elias Pettersson-J.T. Miller situation – which ended with Miller being traded to the New York Rangers – was difficult to navigate.
Hughes, drafted seventh overall by the Canucks in 2018, can become an unrestricted free agent in 2027. He’ll be positioned to command a significant raise from his current $7.85-million cap hit if he maintains his performance over the next two seasons.
