Brady Tkachuk’s reception in Ottawa on Wednesday night gave hockey fans a fresh benchmark for spite, and it naturally raises the question: what kind of night is Quinn Hughes walking into at Rogers Arena on Sunday?
That scene in Ottawa was loud, ugly and unforgettable. Tkachuk didn’t just hear boos; he got the full treatment from his own crowd.
“Brady sucks” chants were one thing. “F*ck your podcast” pushed it even further.
Even his tribute video was booed.
That kind of venom turned heads across the NHL, and now Vancouver gets its turn to show how it feels about a former captain who left under difficult circumstances.
Sunday will be Hughes’ first game in Vancouver since being traded last December, and there are obvious parallels between his exit and Tkachuk’s. In both cases, fans in the home market are still sorting through how to feel about a star who once wore the captain’s letter and is now somewhere else.
But with Hughes, there’s also a layer of understanding baked in. The Canucks were a mess.
It’s fair to ask what reason he really had to stay.
That doesn’t mean the conversation around him has been kind.
On social media, some Canucks fans still call him “Quit Hughes,” and the label comes from more than just the trade. Hughes is one of the greatest players in franchise history, and no Canucks defenceman has matched what he accomplished.
Still, his final stretch in Vancouver left a sour edge. His effort was questioned in those last weeks, including one widely remembered sequence where he seemed to give up on a play.
There’s also the matter of the room itself. Fans have pointed out that the dressing room drama unfolded with Hughes wearing the captain’s C.
He certainly led by example in the sense that he was one of the best defencemen in the world. But the criticism lingers: could he have done more?
Late in his final interview as a Canuck, Offside asked Hughes about helping quiet the noise around a team that was already spiraling. Vancouver had just lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres at home, dropping to 11-17-3.
“We’ve kind of talked about some of this noise maybe affecting the team in the room. Is there anything you can do to maybe quiet some of that noise down?”
Hughes was asked post-game by Trevor Beggs on Dec. 11.
“I mean, I’m just trying to do everything I can,” Hughes said. “I mean, you watch me play.
I’m trying to bring it every night and be a good teammate. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
The day after he was traded, Hughes posted a farewell message on Instagram, saying he loved the “passion in the city.” He also said Vancouver was special because of the people and what the team means to them.
Maybe the fit was never quite right for him as captain. Maybe the losses wore him down and he wasn’t at his best in that final season. Or maybe some fans are simply bothered by the fact that he’s thriving somewhere else.
Either way, Sunday will tell the story. The only real question is how far Vancouver’s reaction lands on the Ottawa scale.
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Conor Garland Is Giving Canucks Fans An Early Answer On That Trade
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Head coach Rick Bowness has not hidden his frustration with the teams overall play, though he has recently sounded a bit less sharp in public. Even so, the Blue Jackets are still searching for the right fit for Garland, whose game has not settled into a consistent groove as the season has gotten underway. The longer that search drags on, the more this trade starts to look like one the Canucks will keep an eye on. [Read more 🡒]