Well I mean they drafted Luke despite players like Eklund, Guenther, Clarke all still on the draft board. It’s a lose lose deal. Canucks don’t need to trade away Hughes

We aren't trading Hughes in a Myers cap dump. If NJ wants Hughes they will need to pony up and it will be expensive. There is absolutely no reason for Vancouver to trade him, unless NJ blows the doors off.

Yes, Hughes has one of the best hands in the NHL
Yes, Hughes is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league
Yes, Quinn Hughes is the best Powerplay Quarterback in the NHL, aside from maybe Fox and Makar.
But he sucks at defense. Rathbone will be great enough for PP1. A Hughes trade will bring back Ty Smith, plus several other assets. Smith can take PP1 and Rathbone can take PP2. This is an above average PP defense. The assets might include other prospects like Walsh Rielly or a first round pick. All these will be more helpful for us long term than Hughes. Hughes might get close to 8 Million × 7 or 8 years this year. The Canucks can't take a huge contract like that. Smith is an ELC for 2 more years, and likely won't demand that much. A Hughes trade might be more beneficial to the Canucks than the Devils, but that doesn't reduce his value. He can fetch a loot box like Erik Karlsson did.

You can teach good defensive play. You can’t teach offensive talent. Hughes is fine where he is. Ty Smith is very good but there really isn’t a need to do this.

QH has basically played in parts of 2 COVID shortened seasons as well as being thrust into topline minutes on a defensively inept team and you come up with this "definitive" assessment of his abilities based on that?? As with ALL young talented offensive d-men, the defensive part of the game takes a while to develop. His skill and IQ will absolutely translate to much better defensive play in the future and the Canucks will happily pay to keep him on their blue line. If he gets traded it will be for a kings ransom because unlike you, hockey GM's appreciate the kind of player he is and will be.