Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
Vancouver received forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
"Bringing a player like Quinn Hughes here, you just don’t get this opportunities all that often," Wild general manager Bill Guerin said Saturday. "Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, all great kids, great players with bright futures. Definitely hard to part with guys that you draft, develop, you spend time with. You get to know them, their families. But like I said, when a player of Quinn’s caliber comes available, and you have an opportunity to get him, there’s a cost to it and we were willing to do what it takes."
The 26-year-old defenseman and Vancouver captain was in his eighth season with the Canucks after being selected by them in the first round (No. 7) of the 2018 NHL Draft. He is in the fifth season of a six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85 million average annual value) he signed on Oct. 3, 2021, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.
Hughes won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman for the 2023-24 season after posting career highs with 92 points, 17 goals, and 75 assists. He was also a finalist for the award last season, when he had 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists).
"It's difficult trading a player like Quinn," said Jim Rutherford, Vancouver's president of hockey operations. "We love him as a person and as a player, one of the greatest players that’s ever played for the Canucks. I think that we have to respect what he's done here, and respect the fact that he was getting closer to free agency and he'd have a choice to go where he wanted. But what this means for the Canucks, people throw around different words, what's the direction of the Canucks?
"So I believe that we've been in a rebuild here for a little bit, and we've been able to acquire some good young players, but this move today gives us some really good young players. It may not change our team in the next few months or even this season, but this doesn't have to be a full blown rebuild where it's going to take five or seven years. We keep going the direction we're going to go on. We're going to get a really good player in June, and this thing can turn for the Canucks, certainly within the next couple of years."
Hughes was one of the first six players named to the United States roster for the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026. He was selected for the 4 Nations Face-off last year but did not play due to injury. Guerin was the GM of that team.
"He’s really excited. He’s such a great kid. Like I said, we, through the whole 4 Nations process last year with him maybe being ready, we've talked almost every day through that process," Guerin said. "So we got to know each other. All he wants to do is win, and be a part of something special. He's really excited. I think we have a really unique bunch of guys in our locker room. He will, he'll see how we operate and how that group of guys operates. ... It's a really good bunch of guys and they play for each other. I think that's what he's looking for."
In 459 games, Hughes has 432 points (61 goals, 371 assists), the most by a defenseman in Vancouver franchise history, and 26 points (two goals, 24 assists) in 30 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) in 26 games this season, leading the Canucks at the time of the trade.
"It’s definitely not an easy day for the franchise," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. "Quinn Hughes has been a big part of the organization and a great person and a great hockey player and has a lot of records. It’s a tough, tough day, but we’re also excited about the return on the players we got here, the younger players and we’ll continue to build with them from Minnesota."
