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Garland addresses Hughes' departure and makes an emotional admission


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Daniel Lucente
December 14, 2025  (12:40)
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Vancouver Canucks' Conor Garland speaks to a reporter
Photo credit: NHL.com

Canucks' Conor Garland is sure going to miss his good buddy Quinn Hughes, as he revealed an emotional statement just a day after the former captain was traded.

A fresh chapter begins for the Vancouver Canucks as they traded their captain, Quinn Hughes, to Minnesota. The team took to the ice for the first time on Saturday in New Jersey without Hughes.
Conor Garland also spoke about the departure of Hughes, thanking the former captain for being the godfather to his son, as he will definitely miss his good friend.
"I don't have any brothers, but we were pretty close. So day-to-day will be a little off for a little bit. The guys are giving me a hard time today, like, you know, I will be walking around the mall by myself. Like last night... I was rating all the right-handed defencemen in the league in my room by myself. That's what we usually do together. Just argue over, you know, who would you take? He's the greatest guy. Goes to a great team. But, you know, we've got to move on as a group."

- Conor Garland

What head coach Adam Foote did regarding the team's captains

Now that the Canucks are without a captain, coach Adam Foote revealed that Filip Hronek would wield the alternate captain 'A' badge for the first time in his NHL tenure. Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Tyler Myers would continue as the other alternates.
It should be noted that Foote had mentioned Hronek as one of the young leaders on the team last week.
During practice, the team also welcomed its three new players to its roster. Zeev Buium is wearing No. 24, Marco Rossi gets No. 93, making history as the first in franchise history to wear the number.
Liam Ohgren gets No. 92, the second in franchise history after Vasily Podkolzin. All three players skated with the team on Saturday.

Why the Canucks got some good news, but also bad news

Earlier on Sunday, Vancouver moved Elias Pettersson to the IR and activated Rossi, who had been sidelined since Nov. 11 with a lower-body injury.
Now, the Canucks face a showdown with the New Jersey Devils on Sunday to test their leadership qualities with their altered squad after the departure of Hughes.
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Garland addresses Hughes' departure and makes an emotional admission

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