Red Wings Mock Trade for Quinn Hughes – The Hockey Writers Latest news, analysis and more

For those who don’t know, there have been some strange coincidences involving my personal life and the Detroit Red Wings.

First our son Emmet was born and the Red Wings selected Emmitt Finnie in the next draft. The seventh-round pick then went on a two years of heating. Then Detroit selected Carter Bear in the 2025 NHL Draft at the time I looked The Bear.

Why does this matter? Well, we just had our second child and named her Quinn. And it just so happens that the Red Wings are linked to Vancouver Canucks star defenseman Quinn Hughes.

So can lightning strike three times? Based on Detroit’s roster and prospect pool, there is certainly ammunition to send Vancouver a respectable offer.

Potential Red Wings trade for Quinn Hughes

Before we get into the players involved, it’s worth making a few caveats. First, as always, the Red Wings are negotiating not only with the Canucks, but with other teams as well. It’s not two teams working in a vacuum to make a deal.

Additionally, Hughes has signed a contract through 2026-2027, meaning he cannot sign an extension until July 1, 2026. No sign-and-trade here. And in that regard, there’s no guarantee that Hughes will sign an extension when he’s able to do so — whether that’s with Vancouver, Detroit or any other team if it comes up there.

Finally, the Canucks don’t do that to have to trade Hughes. He’s not forcing a deal, and this is simply what the Red Wings could offer if Vancouver chose to make a move now.

The trade:

• Detroit gets: LD Quinn Hughes
• Vancouver gets: C Nate Danielson, G Trey Augustine, LD Albert Johansson, LW Max Plante and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick.

It will cost a lot to acquire a player of Hughes’ caliber. The Red Wings essentially trade two first-rounders (Danielson and the 2026 pick), which is essentially another first in Augustine, and two solid former second-round picks with upside in Johansson and Plante.

Starting with Danielson, Vancouver gets a two-way spin with the second line on top. He would fit nicely behind Elias Pettersson if moving forward. And from what I’ve heard, the Canucks are looking for a quality center and are interested in Danielson returning for the 2023 NHL Draft.

Augustine would give Vancouver a goaltender of the future who could eventually take over for Thatcher Demko. He is expected to turn pro after Michigan State’s 2025-2026 season concludes and should start for Abbotsford (AHL) in 2026-2027.

Trey Augustine makes a handful of saves in quick succession to put the Raiders down in the second period! pic.twitter.com/2TEJ66kT3u

— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 28, 2025

With Johansson, the Canucks get a young left guard with upside to balance their defensive pairings. Marcus Pettersson would jump into the top pairing alongside Filip Hronek, leaving Johansson alongside Tyler Myers or Tom Willander. Johansson excels when it comes to ice recovery and movement, and could work well with a meat-and-potatoes defenseman like Myers.

Finally, Plante and the first-round pick represent future assets. Plante, the nation’s leading scorer, could turn pro this spring like Augustinus, but would be better off staying at the collegiate level for another year.

Related: Consolidated Red Wings Prospect Rankings for 2025-2026

Vancouver’s perspective on Detroit’s bogus trade offer

To gauge whether the proposed offer was in line with Vancouver’s expectations, I reached out to THW colleague and lead Canucks reporter Matthew Zator for his insight. This is what he had to say:

“As much as I like Danielson and his potential to become another Bo Horvat,” Zator said, “I think the Canucks would much rather go with Marco Kasper. He has a lot more upside as a top-six center and the front office reportedly had him high on their list in the 2022 draft.”

“Augustine is an interesting piece of this puzzle. The Canucks don’t have a starting goaltender in the system and they will need to find a replacement after Demko and Kevin Lankinen’s contracts expire. He could be the answer to the crisis for a very long time.”

“I’m impressed with the defenseman in this proposal, Johansson. He has the potential to be a top-four guy, but would be miles away from replacing what Hughes brings to the blue line. Axel Sandin-Pellikka would be my target in any trade involving Hughes.”

“Finally, Max Plante definitely looks like a legitimate future NHLer, especially after what he’s done so far in the NCAA. I really like him as a prospect in the industry. Overall, while it’s probably overpaid, signing Sandin-Pellikka or Kasper instead of Danielson or Johansson would move the needle a bit more in getting this deal done.”

Last word

If Vancouver wants to trade Quinn Hughes now, the Red Wings have the pieces to make it happen. That said, the costs will be sky-high and the organization may need to consider players previously considered untouchable.

Adding Hughes would immediately elevate Detroit’s blue line to the top of the league. Combined with Seider, Edvinsson and Sandin-Pellikka (if he isn’t included in the trade), the Red Wings would have a truly elite defensive core.