The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Jeff Paterson on Quinn Hughes and the Canucks Future

Episode Date: December 9, 2025

Jeff Paterson joins live from Vancouver with a clear, level read on the Quinn Hughes situation, stripping away rumor momentum and getting to what actually matters for the Canucks. He explains why this feels like the most consequential inflection point the organization has faced in a decade, how the “Fitzy” moment amplified speculation, and why Vancouver simply cannot afford to miss on the return if a deal ever materializes. Jeff outlines the front-office tension between an ownership group resistant to a full teardown and a fan base ready for one, while also highlighting why New Jersey’s right-shot depth shapes both the leverage and timing. With Demko’s form, Pettersson’s uncertainty, and the standings reality colliding all at once, he makes the case that this is no longer just a trade conversation — it’s a direction-of-franchise verdict.SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Bauer: https://www.bauer.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/caReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If that, we'll get to the senior editor of the Canucks Army and a mainstay on the Secarison Price podcast as well. He is Jeff Patterson, here to tell us why we should all calm down about Quinn Hughes. Jeff, how are you today? I wish I had a good logical debate for you there. I'm all right. Just want you to know I'm here at Rogers Arena, Canucks on the ice, morning skate. You're talking about the Red Wings. They're in town tonight.

And Jeff 30, 30, 30, 300 is the number of the day here. in Vancouver. It is Thatcher Demko's 30th birthday. Oh, it is the 30th game of the season for the Vancouver Canucks. And should they win, they might just climb into 30th place in the national hockey extends. Putting a bright spin on all of it here. So 30 is the call of the day. But I mean, you know, one of the things that we're wondering about here is not a number, but a name and a nickname and the nickname Fitsy. Now, when I saw Quinn Hughes used the term, Fitsy as opposed to Tom Fitzgerald. My first thought was he hangs out with his brothers, he lives with his brothers, they're employed by the New Jersey Devils. Whenever they have

conversations about their manager, Jack and Luke both say Fitsy. So that's the environment that Quinn Hughes is around. Now, knowing that around this story, there are no small pieces of it. Every piece of this story is a large piece. I had a sense that this was going to get ahead of everybody and quickly and sky is falling and chicken little and oh my god he's gone and all of that and everyone took the ball and ran with it. What did you make of Quinn Hughes referencing Tom Fitzgerald as Fitsy over the weekend? I kind of laughed and shrugged it off but I don't think I was in the majority. Yeah, I think I'm like most. I mean it kind of caught me in my tracks. You don't generally hear players

talking about general managers by nicknames, but we live in a hockey world and the brothers, the three of them, obviously have been raised in a hockey world. If I'm not mistaken, there's a relationship between Jim Euse, the dad, and Tom Fitzgerald

that goes way back to the college playing day. So Tom Fitzgerald has been in the Hughes realm and in the Hughes blood for decades, literally. So I'm inclined to give Quinn a pass here, but it's impossible not to take note

of just how casual. He made it sound as he slipped that in there, and dead, I'm not on this phone call, and he wasn't, and he was presented with this news right after the game the other night. I do think probably caught off guard a little bit, so

Quinn's a pretty calculated guy, again, a captain in a Canadian market, I think he understands that everything that comes out of his mouth is going to be dissected a billion different ways and it's such a hot button issue that he has to know that this was going to

raise the temperature just a bit. So I was surprised. I was surprised but at the end of the day they are hockey guys and everybody in the grand scheme is a Fitsy on some level, isn't he? I mean, that's just the world they live in. Honestly, I didn't really think anything of it other than just to giggle when I

heard it and just figuring like that's how Tom Fitzgerald You know, it's funny, I was doing the podcast with Bruce Boudreau today. He's like, everybody calls me Gabby. Even people that don't know me call me Gabby. It doesn't matter if I'm with the capitals or the ducks or the Wild

or Vancouver Canucks, people just call me Gabby, even if they don't know me or not. That's just the name that I'm known by, much like Tom Fitzgerald is just known as Fitsy. Does this feel like, and I would imagine that most transactions are like this, they're just not public. But this is like,

if it does go the way that many of us are anticipating, it does feel like the world's slowest moving trade. Does it feel that way to you, J-Path? Well, to a degree, but Jeff, the Canucks get one crack at this and they have to get it right, right? Like, this is the best player that they have on their roster currently and is on a very short list of the best players they have ever had where they're uniform.

And so given where they are, and I made light of it off the top there, but they are. They're 31st in the NHL standings with Quinn Hughes playing 30 minutes a night, and they're still where they are in the standings. And it's nothing that Quinn Hughes has failed to do for the organization. The organization has failed to build a winner around one of the best defensemen and one of the top players in the National Hockey League.

and they have had ample time to do it. And I think a lot of the fear out here is that, and maybe Quinn has this fear as well, that if he commits long term to the Vancouver Canucks, that it's just going to be more of the same. Like he hasn't, aside from the 23, 24 season, where everything came together. And they had almost perfect health.

And so many guys had career seasons that just aren't repeatable. And then we know the drama that worked its way into the locker room. So if they are going to go down, this road. You know, they can't just sell to the first bidder. They have to create a market and there should be a massive market out there. And I'm in this camp of again, nothing's gone

right for this organization. This fan base out here is now rabid for a full on rebuild. So, you know, do your new diligence, create a market, get the best deal you can but in saying that if I'm an acquiring team, boy, I would want

Quinn Hughes. The the assurance that you're going to get Quinn Hughes for two playoff runs at the bare minimum, right? So that would mean trading them before this trade deadline. I just think on some level, ripping the Band-Aid, but you know, you can't just do it haphazardly. I mean, they've got to get this thing absolutely right because, and it's near impossible. I'm not going to say it's impossible, but it's tough. And history shows you that it's difficult to win these kinds of trades when you are dealing away a star-level player. and so, you know, we'll see where it goes.

So yes, I mean, it's been talked about and it's going to continue to be front burner material out here on the West Coast and really around the National Hockey League. But at some point, it just kind of feels inevitable now. So I did something a couple of weeks ago. I was talking to a manager of a team in the Metropolitan Division. And I said, like, I'm trying to figure out of my brain, you know, what a Quinn Hughes deal to New Jersey would look like.

And I said, my mind is that I'm just like, am I off base or on base here? And I was throwing out like Simon Nemich and Dawson Mercer, first round pick. And he said, if that's the deal, I'll be livid as will everybody else in the Metropolitan Division. They have to pay more. It starts with Jesper Bratt. And then you start adding on. Like, I think there's a lot of people in the Metropolitan Division that are saying to themselves, man, if Quinn Hughes is coming to the Metropolitan, New Jersey better pay.

It just can't be a couple of prospects and a couple of picks, like future future. They have to give up something significant. Like that's the, like, that's the, like, is everyone feeling this place? It's like, oh, yeah. If these come in here, New Jersey better give something up. Do you feel the same way? Like, they need to give up, like, significant roster players to the Vancouver Canucks here. And I hear you loud and clear, and yet, if you're the New Jersey Devils, you're making this deal to try to win the Stanley Cup.

And so you don't want to slash this roster that you've built. And so, again, this is all part of negotiation. Yeah, I mean, would the Canucks like to get at least one ready made player that they could stick into this lineup to then start to rebuild without a doubt? But I just don't get the sense that if the devils are going all in here, they want to add Quinn Hughes to an. already impressive roster and hope that that can put them over the top. It would be the most Canuck thing ever, Jeff, though, if Simone Nemich was the centerpiece of the return because, and I've been out this job 25 years. And in those 25 years, the Canucks have struggled so mightily to construct a competitive

right side of their defense. And now we're living in a world where they've got Phil Horonick, who kind of quietly may be their best player this season, even with Quinn Hughes on the roster. Quinn hasn't been in his best, and I do wonder if he's distracted by all of this. But kind of quietly, Philharonic on a night the Red Wings are in.

He's had a really nice run. And Tom Lander, who they drafted a couple years ago as a right shot defenseman, like there are signs that the right side of their defense is confident, capable, and now you're telling me that the centerpiece of a Quinn Hughes deal parting with this left shot all-star, and now you're adding another right-side guy.

So just factor that in or keep that in mind at the very least. But it just timings everything in the world. And it just, I kind of have to laugh at that, that we're at a point in time where, yeah, maybe they'd be looking to add another right side guy after all these years. So we'll see how it goes. The interesting thing is you look for an organization and where they're the strongest and go look as far as depth go with the New Jersey Devils.

Listen, as you well know, right shot defenseman, always in demand. And what's the old cliche? Oh, he's got a defender. Is he a right shot, left shot? He's a right shot. Oh, good. Add 10% to the contract.

Like, New Jersey's got a lot of right shot defensemen. Like, if you look at like one of the most valuable commodities around the NHL, the New Jersey Devils have a bunch of them. Now, the Hughes story dominated headlines. Unfortunately, it was on a night where the Vancouver Canucks minus Elias Pedersen beat one of the top teams in the NHL, the Minnesota Wild. But that story got sort of, you know, on the back page. you know, with the obituaries and the,

and the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the first thing. And the back of the Newspoters, the back. And I, I know they are where they are, but that's a big win by Vancouver. You know, it's funny. They had played well and actually outplayed Utah here on Friday night, but in a very Canuck way, found a way to lose that hockey game. They were in it into the third period, and then they lose four to one, and then it's back-to-back, quick turnaround. Minnesota had lost in Calgary, and you figured, oh,

Wilde's going to come in here and take its frustrations out on the Canucks, and they had the Wall of St. Paul in goal. And, yeah, and then Elias Pedersen starts the warm up and leaves, and you're thinking, come on. Like with every other injury that the Canucks team has endured, this season. Now you're taking EP40 out of the lineup and I don't think anybody gave them a chance and that's why we love

sports and you never know and it's why they play the games and sure enough Minnesota opened the scoring early and then the conducts thought they had tied it and had a goal this allowed and again you're thinking everything's conspiring against this team it's just not going to happen and then they punched a wall or a hole in the wall in St. Paul and

found an opportunity to get back in the hockey game. So credit to the young guys that stepped up and performed like Atchirot had three points, first time in his career. Tom Lander scored his first NHL goal, the one Elias or Leas Patterson, they did have in the lineup. He scored as well, you know, all three of those guys, 23 and under.

And I think that's the kind of win that fans here can get behind with a vision to, hey, all three of those guys could be here as pieces, you know, if Quinn is out the door and they do start to rebuild this thing. So it was against all odds. It doesn't look like Elias Patterson, the forward is going to play. He's not on the ice here at the morning skate. So we'll get an update from Adam Foote afterwards, and we'll see if he's out any length of time. But, yeah, look, it's just, it's been a disaster season on so many levels for the Vancouver Canucks.

Wins have been hard to come by. They had one in the eight game prior to Minnesota the other night. So one win doesn't change the trajectory of this hockey club, but, you know, for a night, at least I think it allowed fans to discuss some different storylines. And that is never a bad thing when the same story. lines over and over. But, you know, just back to Quinn for a quick second, after Detroit, the Canucks have Buffalo in here midweek, and then they head out on a five-game road trip that's going to take them into the Christmas break. Where does it start? New Jersey on Sunday. So if you think the Hughes News is front page this week or this weekend, just give it a couple of days

as the Canucks roll in to Newark. Does he get cheered in New Jersey? Yeah. Every time he touches the puck, is there a state? standing ovation for Quinn Hughes. Make the trade chant. Yeah. Who knows? Oh, boy. That'll be a must watch game. Well, let me close on this one. You mentioned that, you know,

Canucks fans now more so than ever are committed that this team needs to rebuild. We know that the owner is reluctant to do that. I always wonder about, you know, the effects of the pandemic and empty buildings and lost revenue. and trying to make it up,

but I don't know that, you know, here we are, you know, almost in 2026 if that's much of a factor anymore. Why the reluctance? Why the reluctance? I understand that we all watch, like, it's been painful watching Chicago go through what they went through.

I get it. And this was like, listen, the last couple of games, too, haven't exactly been pretty for the Black Hawks. There's still a lot of work to be done and ditto for the San Jose sharks and Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim ducks, etc. but why the reluctance, the very strong reluctance here? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a couple things.

One is we never hear from the owner anymore. He doesn't speak publicly, so it's impossible to know what's going on in his mind. But I just have to imagine, especially as the Board of Governors are meeting, to walk into a room like that as the 31st or 32nd place team. Like, these guys all have big egos, and that can't be easy for ownership. and so look, it's been a dark decade plus out here, right? Everybody knows that. Kinnock's went to the playoffs in 2015, in the bubble, and then in 2024.

That's not a lot of playoff success. So this idea that the market couldn't handle a tough go for a while, that's all that this market has had for the better part of 12 years now, and quite frankly, the future doesn't look terribly bright. Even with Quinn Hughes in the lineup, there's still so many concerns about Elias Pedersen and where he is and not just short-term today because he's not in the lineup, but in terms of the superstar player that once was that hasn't returned, you know, is he a guy that you keep and build around?

Or if you're clearing Quinn out to you really just tear it down and start to move out all big pieces here and try it again. So, you know, I think if you look at who's calling the shots, Jim Rutherford, he's not going to be at this forever. and he was brought in to build a championship team. It's the four-year anniversary, essentially, of his arrival here in Vancouver. And it kind of feels like back to square one with the one good season in there. So, you know, I think that's part of it, too.

The gym, he wants to win now. He doesn't want to be building this thing up for five or six years. But ultimately, it comes back, and the owner calls the shots here. And it's, you know, playoff revenue in and of itself. just doesn't seem like enough of a reason to be so reluctant when like really chasing two home games possibly each spring like how you know where the revenue comes when you get on one of those runs and you host 12 playoff games uh like they did back in 2011 but 2011 just feels like a lifetime ago now um you know it's not going to be that this is the crazy part like we're getting to a point here there are going to be guys drafted in the national hockey league here soon who weren't alive when the conucks got to game seven on the stanley cup final in 2011. That's how time marches on, but we're not that far away from that point in time. Thanks for making me feel old, J. Pat. You know what? One thing, interestingly enough, like, we can all remember, I'll close on this, we can all remember when Jim Rutherford was first hired

and that first press conference and some of the first interviews that he did. It seemed as if because you heard him talk about, we need flexibility, we're capped out, we're clogged up, I need I need room to maneuver. It felt like, you know, and J.T. Miller was going to the penguins for, was it, was it Pedersen and Capitan was part of a deal. Like, there was all kinds of stuff that were hearing out of Vancouver. And it really did feel like, okay, they've picked a timeline. The timeline is Pedersen Hughes. And that's a timeline that they're going to compliment.

And I don't know when it did, but man, did it change fast? Man, did it change quickly? And it can in the NHL, and we've seen this before. But I go back to coming out of the bubble, they pushed Vegas to Game 7 in the bubble, and that was the first taste of playoff hockey, even in that unique circumstance, but first taste of playoff hockey for Hughes, for Pedersen, for Brock Bessor.

And they all passed the test. Bo Horvatt was terrific in the bubble. They came out of the bubble as one of the sexy young teams in the National Hockey League. And then with COVID, they turned the financial taps off here. That fateful day when Tanniv and Markstrom and Stav. and Stetcher and to fully all walked and to fully sign the contract that he did

in Montreal, that really, to me, was a turning point for sort of the path that they were on. They had a really good roster full of terrific young players and you know, then came the Oliver Ekman Larson trade and Jim Benning

sort of in job survival mode and we know how that worked out and then comes to your brotherford and so the wheels have been spinning here for far too long. That 2024 playoff push, I won't even call it a run. It was two rounds. They got Edmonton to a seventh game, but it was fun. And it kind of

showed this market that, oh yeah, playoff hockey is fun. We need more of it out here. And yet here we are. I was looking the other day because on Thursday night when Calgary and National won, the Canucks sunk to 32nd in the overall scambings. 22 months earlier,

they were the top team in the National Hockey League at the All-Star break of that in the spring of 24, and here we are as 2026 approaches. And, you know, they are languishing right there at the bottom of the standings. And as I said, the one win over many the other night doesn't change the trajectory that this team is on this season. So change has to come and just a question of how quickly and how deep are the decisions. Never a dull moment. J. Pat, thanks as always for stopping by.

Man, you went deep with me today. Really appreciate it. And everyone watching the listing, I'm sure, did as well. Thanks, pal. Enjoy the game tonight. And then we will all be watching sooner than later as the Vancouver Canucks face off against the New Jersey Devils at the... It's an early start, by the way. I don't know if it's to avoid football on Sunday.

It's one of those 12.30 local in Jersey. So Sunday, early afternoon for you, but yeah, morning hockey for us out here, at least a couple of the Hughes brothers going head to head on Sunday. Yes. Okay, great stuff, as always. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. You begin.

I sweat 16 hours last night every day this week, every day this month. I can't get out my head, lifestyle ambitions day-to-day, because you can call it all right. I went to the dark man and tried to give me a little medicine. I'm like, no, and that's fine. I'm not against those methods but new it's me and myself and how this is going to be fixing my mind I do want to back in the music I do want to beckers

I turn it on the music Mixing up, help out and I'll get you sometimes losing In the dead dark night