Hughes traded to Wild by Canucks

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.

“We would like to thank Quinn for his time with the Vancouver Canucks,” said Jim Rutherford, Vancouver's president of hockey operations. “Quinn is a great person, a great player, and one of the greatest Canucks of all time. ... We are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota. They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.”

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).

He was one of the first six players named to the United States roster for the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026.

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."

The Canucks are 11-17-3 and in eighth place in the Pacific Division, eight points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference under first-year coach Adam Foote.

After winning the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record in Hughes' Norris-winning season of 2023-24 and reaching the Western Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs under then-coach Rick Tocchet, the Canucks slipped to 38-30-14 in 2024-25 and missed the playoffs, finishing six points out of a wild-card spot.

With that frustrating season, which saw center J.T. Miller traded to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31 and Tocchet departing at the end of the year, came increasing speculation about Hughes' future in Vancouver.

"I believe this is something that you probably go back even a year ago, when this started to come to our attention that this might be the path that Quinn wants to go," Allvin said. "We were hoping, ownership was trying to do everything and we were trying to do everything to convince him to stay and work through it. But we felt when we were not able to do it that’s when we started the process to looking to see what potential destination would be out there and what potential teams could come up with the best return for the Vancouver Canucks moving forward."

Buium and Rossi were Minnesota's sixth- and seventh-leading scorers this season at the time of the trade.

Rossi, 24, a first-round pick (No. 9) by Minnesota in the 2020 NHL Draft, had 114 points (49 goals, 65 assists) in 202 games for the Wild, including 13 points (four goals, nine assists) this season. He signed a three-year, $15 million contract ($5 million AAV) with the Wild on Aug. 22, 2025 and can become a restricted free agent after the 2027-28 season.

Buium, 20, a first-round pick (No. 12) by Minnesota in 2024, made his NHL debut in the playoffs last season after playing two seasons at the University of Denver, winning a national championship in 2024 and returning to the Frozen Four in 2025 before losing to eventual champion Western Michigan in the semifinals.

He had one point in four playoff games last season and 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 31 games this season. Buium signed a three-year, entry-level contract on April 13, 2025.

"Zeev is a young defenseman that won two World Juniors and a national championship in Denver," Allvin said. "He’s an extremely talented offensive-minded defenseman that in a very short time experienced the playoffs last year when he was done in Denver and stepping right into the National Hockey League and playing for Minnesota and then following up this year where I think he looks stronger, more composed. Our scouting staff that followed him there are excited on the path that’s coming. He’s still very young and we know that for a defenseman it takes some time. But he definitely has the ability to quarterback a power play here and we’re really excited to work with him here."

Ohgren, 21, a first-round pick (No. 19) by Minnesota in the 2022 NHL Draft, has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 46 games for the Wild but has no points in 18 games this season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract on July 16, 2022.

The Wild (17-9-5) are third in the Central Division. After beginning the season 3-6-3 through Oct. 30, they have gone 14-3-2 in their past 19 games.

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report