Minnesota Wild acquire star defenseman in trade
The Minnesota Wild have acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in the biggest blockbuster trade of the NHL season.
The teams announced the seismic move Friday night after the 2024 Norris Trophy winner, as the league’s best defenseman had been the most talked about trade candidate over the past two weeks.
The Wild sent center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round draft pick to the Canucks’ rebounds to complete the deal. Rossi at 24, Ohgren at 21 and Buium at 20 fit the young players the Canucks were supposed to target if they were to trade Hughes.
At just 26 years old and considered the best behind Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Hughes has one season left on his contract after this one before he can become an unrestricted free agent. There has been a lot of noise about Quinn wanting to play with brothers Jack and Luke with the New Jersey Devils.
They could potentially become teammates on the U.S. Olympic team, either in February in Milan or in 2030. Wild general manager Bill Guerin leads USA Hockey’s executive team.
Hughes has two goals and 21 assists for 23 points in 23 games this season with the NHL’s bottom-ranked Canucks. He had been their captain since 2023, and his abrupt departure sets the stage for more changes in Vancouver 11 months after JT Miller was traded to the New York Rangers and following coach Rick Tocchet’s departure rather than remain behind the bench.
“With the circumstances surrounding JT and now Quinn, we are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota,” Canucks president Jim Rutherford said. “They will play a key role in the rebuild we are currently in, giving us a bright future. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using this as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.”
The Wild can’t extend Hughes until July 1, and it’s unclear if he would consider signing another contract. He had no trade protections under his current deal, paying him an average of $7.85 million per year, which would have allowed him to lock in a deal anywhere.
The Wild will look to challenge the NHL’s top two teams, Colorado and Dallas, in the Central Division, which also includes reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners Winnipeg. Hughes is significantly improving his blue line, which already included captain Jared Spurgeon and Swede Jonas Brodin, and winger Kirill Kaprizov signed the richest deal in hockey history just this fall to stay with the team for eight more years.
It was the second major trade of the day after the Edmonton Oilers, two-time Stanley Cup finalists, made a move for a goaltender, acquiring Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
