Canucks poor start, Hodges plans to risk potential trade

VANCOUVER – It was less than a week ago that Quinn Hughes joked the only “noise” he heard about his uncertain future with the Vancouver Canucks was in his head.

But SportsNet’s Elliott Friedman brought the Canucks’ captain — and everyone in hockey — a stir with his news bombshell Monday night that Vancouver management has informed other National Hockey League teams that they will listen to trade offers on their veteran players.

And while Friedman reported that Hughes, the team’s captain and the best player in franchise history, is not currently in the trade plans, any changes made by general manager Patrick Allen and team president Jim Rutherford that weaken the Canucks in the short term raise the possibility that the superstar defenseman will be asked to leave this summer or sooner if Vancouver’s season worsens.

Heading into the final year of his contract next season and potential unrestricted free agency in 2027, the 26-year-old Hughes is expected to decide this summer whether to rejoin the Canucks or move to the New Jersey Devils so he can play with younger brothers Jake and Luke.

Rutherford said after last season that the Canucks needed to do everything they could to keep Hodges, but that mission was already being compromised by Vancouver’s 9-12-2 start.

The Canucks travel on Tuesday and open a difficult four-game road trip on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks.

In an interview with SportsNet before the Canucks’ final road trip, Rutherford said he has no plans to rebuild — even if Hughes decides to leave.

“Reconstruction can work,” he said. “But you have to understand that rebuilding takes a lot of time. There’s a lot of patience, and for the teams that take the biggest jump and eventually rebuild and win a Cup, they usually get the first overall pick. And you still have to get lucky. So rebuilding is not something we’re going to look at. Like I said, we don’t play all of them in transactions. Picks that may or may not end up playing someday.

He also told us: “I think as long as we stay the course and keep getting young players that we feel like we’re going to play (in the NHL) and contribute to a team that can be a consistent playoff team and a contender, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

Friedman reiterated that it is management’s goal to make the Canucks short in any future trade.

But any deletion of key veterans from the Canucks roster, especially if the return is draft picks or prospects who can’t help the team this season, is more likely to just push Hughes away in search of a chance to challenge for the Stanley Cup.

If Vancouver is open for business, other teams will find many attractive products on the shelf. But almost all of the veteran Canucks have significant terms remaining on their contracts and, more importantly, no-movement clauses.

Two players who do not yet have NMCs are playmaking winger Connor Garland and injured goalie Thatcher Demko. Both signed multi-year extensions last summer, one year before their free agent eligibility, and will enjoy full trade protection starting next season.

Easily the most marketable Canuck buzzer on an expiring contract is winger Kiefer Sherwood, a 30-year-old who recorded 462 hits last season to tie for the NHL record, and also broke his perceived offensive mark with 19 goals and 40 assists.

Contract talks between Sherwood and the Canucks failed to gain traction last summer, in part because management is wary of how much money to commit long-term given Sherwood’s age and Vancouver’s roster, which includes Garland and Brock Boozer ahead of him at right wing.

But Sherwood leads the Canucks with 12 goals in 23 games this season — he was the team’s first-quarter MVP — and it’s hard to see how he’ll trade now but advance the team’s slim playoff chances.

If the Canucks want to make sure they don’t lose Sherwood for nothing in free agency after this season, Rutherford and Elvin have until the March 6 trade deadline to make their best deal.

Checking center Teddy Blauger, 31, and tight end Derek Forbert, 33, are also on expiring contracts and could be traded, but both have been injured for more than a month. With three goals in 23 games, 34-year-old winger Evander Kean has been a big disappointment as the Canucks’ biggest off-season acquisition, so it’s questionable whether other teams will surrender to pick up his expiring contract at the $5.125 million cap hit.

It’s no surprise, given the Canucks’ disappointing start, that management wants to gauge interest in its players and find a new course for a franchise that Rutherford said is in transition after last season’s seismic trade of center Trey Miller.

But with Vancouver riding this season, selling assets and reaching the white flag feels like a start.