Hughes to face Canucks for 1st time since trade to Wild

Whether Quinn Hughes will be excited, nervous or a little of both, he won't know until his first shift for the Minnesota Wild against the Vancouver Canucks at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, SNP).

It will be Hughes' first game against Vancouver since the Canucks traded their captain to the Wild on Dec. 12. He spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career with the Canucks, who selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

"I just feel like you're so day to day and the season has flown by," Hughes said. "So much has happened and you don't even really think about it until it's here, so it probably won't feel real until not even warmups, but in the game. It's just been such a long year, you don't even process everything that's going on. You're just playing and at the end of the summer, you can reflect and look back on what the year was like."

Hughes is Vancouver's all-time leader in points (432) and assists (371) among defensemen and also had 61 goals in 459 games. He won the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the League in 2023-24, when he had an NHL career-high 92 points in 82 games.

"I don't know," Hughes said. "You get so close to these guys, and you play them in practice every day. Playing my brothers, that's weird too. I'm kind of used to scenarios like this."

The deal that sent the 26-year-old defenseman to Minnesota for defenseman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft launched a mentally challenging, yet exhilarating journey that took him back to the United States and scoring 54 seconds into the third period while playing 26:55 in his Wild debut, a 6-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 14. Hughes' overtime goal gave Team USA a 2-1 win against Team Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Winter Olympics before his brother, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, scored in overtime to defeat Team Canada 2-1 for the United States' first Olympic gold medal in men's hockey since the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

Quinn's eight points (one goal, seven assists) tied Erik Karlsson of Sweden at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and Brian Rafalski of the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics for the most by a defenseman in a single tournament involving NHL players. He has 49 points (four goals, 45 assists) in 42 games for the Wild. His 66 assists this season are tied with Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers for first in the NHL at his position.

"It's not easy being traded, especially when you've been somewhere so long, but I felt like in January I felt like I was playing as good as I can, felt like I was playing as good as I can at the Olympics," Hughes said. "Since I've been back, you're on the craziest high and there's a little bit of a lull, but now it's just you're ramping up for playoffs. The desperation has to be high. You have to be ready to go and I'm excited for that."

The Wild are 23-12-7 since the trade, third in the Central Division (41-21-12) and in position to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth on Thursday. The objective is getting past the opening round for the first time since 2015 and winning their first Stanley Cup championship since joining the NHL for the 2000-01 season. The furthest they've advanced was the 2003 Western Conference Final, a four-game loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Hughes is providing his skill and intangibles to the locker room, coach John Hynes said, calling him "kind of like a hockey savant" with knowledge of every player in the League.

"He's a highly intelligent kid," Hynes said. "Behind the scenes in conversations, there's a lot of substance to what he says. As a leader on a team, as a former captain, when he does have things to say within the room to the guys, I think it's thoughtful and on point and direct."

Hughes is also still trying to take a breath. He said this season was a mental challenge with a condensed schedule, leaving Vancouver for Minnesota, winning gold in Italy and returning home for a playoff push that will likely land the Wild a date with the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round.

"Everything that happened in February was unbelievable, but you get acclimated, then you leave, then you're trying to get reacclimated, so that's kind of what I'm feeling like right now," Hughes said. "Obviously looking forward to being able to play playoff hockey here but have to focus on the next date as well.

The Wild, six points behind the second-place Stars in the Central with one game in hand, have Hughes lined up for his first playoff appearance since helping the Canucks go 50-23-9, win the Pacific Division and reach Game 7 of the second round in 2024, a 3-2 loss to the Oilers on home ice. Times are wholly different. The Canucks (22-44-8) were the first team eliminated from playoff contention this season and are developing first-round draft picks in Buium (No. 12, 2024), Rossi (No. 9, 2020) and Ohgren (No. 19, 2022).

"It's a little strange," Hynes said. "I would say on one side of it, on Quinn, having experience even as a coach, it always is a little different playing against the team you just came from, so it will probably be a fun night for him and an interesting night. As far as Marco and Liam and 'Z', I'm happy for those guys. There in a situation where they're getting some ice time and I think they're all playing pretty well and a big part of their team now but also a big part of their team moving forward. They've moved on to a different situation, but that situation's been great for them as well."