Quinn Hughes is officially heading to Detroit, but it's not what you're thinking

The Detroit Red Wings have a thirst for a top defenseman like Quinn Hughes in the lineup.

Drafted 7th overall in the 1st round of the 2018 NHL draft, he's found himself earning the captaincy in Vancouver.

He's a player who fans want to see in their team's uniform. Well, we should expect to see him in Detroit, but instead of ever wearing a winged wheel, it won't be anything like that.

The Canucks captain was a part of trade rumors during the preseason, but nothing materialized.

The 442-game defenseman is headed to Detroit:

Hughes has been suffering from a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup since October 28th, when he first missed a game against his former teammate, J.T. Miller of the New York Rangers.

The defenseman instead is heading back to Detroit, but for what purpose? We believe he'll be getting evaluated.

This is unwelcome news for Canucks fans, as he's played a total of 9 games this season and scored 7 points (1-6) this season.

Could it signal something worse?

According to Head Coach Adam Foote, there was speculation that he'd be healthy enough to go on the team's road trip, but that appears to be wrong.

For Hughes, this is an issue, as last season he missed a significant amount of time due to a hand injury and would miss the Four Nations Face-Off.

The list of maladies he'd suffer would pile up, with an oblique injury keeping him off the nightly roster afterward as a result.

Hughes has played 442 games in the NHL and scored 416 points (60-356).

He unfortunately won't be suiting up for the Red Wings anytime soon.