From Rebuild to Contender: How the Quinn Hughes Trade Reshaped Two Franchises
- karinnaleonard
- 3 minutes ago
- 7 min read
NHL fans were in for a shock on December 12th when Quinn Hughes, the captain of the Canucks, was traded to the Minnesota Wild. In exchange, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first-round pick are headed over to Vancouver. After an abysmal start to the season, the dead-last Canucks were due for a change in direction. It was time to admit that their future pointed toward a rebuild, not a playoff push. For the Wild, the decision was simple when they were presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a star defenseman like Hughes.
The general assumption was that Hughes wanted out, with speculation pointing toward destinations like New Jersey (where both of his brothers play), Detroit (his home state), or even Philadelphia. No one could have predicted this—except one person did. Last May, Twitter/X user Berty's Sideburns tweeted: "I'm going to say this...Everyone looking for a Quinn Hughes trade out of New Jersey. You don't have the center to make the deal. The most likely trade candidate for the #Canucks will be the #MNWild. Rossi, Buium, and a 1st is the type of deal that gets a team Hughes." A few months later, he proved to be almost exactly right.
On paper, the trade appears to be a win-win. Vancouver started gearing up for the future, while Minnesota turned itself into a legitimate Cup contender. But as Cam Robinson said, "We can and will talk about the return for years, but at the end of the day, Vancouver had to trade the best defenseman in team history in the prime of his career. That's a failure."
After pushing the Edmonton Oilers to a Game 7 in the Second Round of the 2024 playoffs, Vancouver fans were hopeful. In their first game after the Hughes trade, only four players who had played in that Game 7 suited up for the Canucks. (Elias Pettersson is currently on IR, while Boeser and Demko were injured during Game 7 but remain on the team.) It's a case of complete and utter failed asset management. Between 2013 and 2019, Vancouver had six top-ten draft picks. Today, Elias Pettersson is the only one still on the roster—a story in itself. Last season, JT Miller was traded, and now Hughes. In such a short span of time, Canucks fans went from hope and belief in the future, straight past despair, and right on into apathy.
If you've been on any side of Canucks Twitter this year, you know the only thing fans have been begging for is a rebuild. With this trade, it seems like that may finally be happening. Vancouver's current roster is now the fourth youngest in the league, behind Montreal, Buffalo, and Chicago. As the season plays out, it appears the Canucks will at least look to move their upcoming UFAs to accumulate more draft picks. With a stellar 2026 draft class, this could be a major step towards reshaping the team.
While the news was undoubtedly disappointing for fans, it's important not to discount the players Vancouver received in return. Drafted in 2020 as the ninth overall pick, Marco Rossi is a solid second-line centre. Last season, he scored 24 goals and 36 assists for 60 points. He gives the team some much-needed help at centre and, though undersized, has legitimate upside.
In Liam Öhgren, you get an untapped left winger with a heavy shot who plays physically and finishes checks. The 6'0", 200lb forward was drafted 19th overall in 2022 and is just 21 years old. With a bigger role and more opportunities in Vancouver, he has plenty of room to grow.
Finally, you get the future in Zeev Buium. The left-shot defenseman is a dynamic two-way competitor who has won at every level he's played at. Connor Garland had experience playing with him, as this past summer, they were teammates on the USA squad that won the IIHF World Championship. Garland was impressed by Buium's confidence, recounting: "Before the semifinal game against Sweden, he came up to me, and he’s like, 'Oh, I’ve never lost at anything. I have five gold medals. We’re going to win.’ I was like, wow, this guy is 19 years old, coming up to three veterans at the table." That fearless swagger is exactly what this Canucks team needs. Combined with his skill and winning mentality, Buium has the potential to become a cornerstone of Vancouver's young, rebuilding core.
But if these young players are so promising, why would the Wild trade them? The answer is simple: Quinn Hughes. Arguably the best left-shot defenseman in the NHL and one of the league's top overall players, Hughes still has a year and a half remaining on his current contract at $7.85 million per year—a steal to bolster their roster and help them become an instant Cup contender. On MoneyPuck, after acquiring Hughes, their odds jumped from a 3.5% chance of winning the Cup to 6.8%.
As the 2018 seventh overall draft pick and the 2024 Norris Trophy winner, Hughes is known for his elite edge work, dynamic skating, and vision of the game. Beyond pure offensive stats, what really sets him apart is his possession metrics and ability to exit and enter the zone. He leads all players in puck possession time per game, averaging 4:01 minutes. To put that into perspective, the next closest player is Lane Hutson with 2:41. Hughes also ranks first among defensemen in zone exits and zone entries. Dylan Loucks, a Minnesota Wild reporter for The Hockey News, highlighted this by tracking his zone exit and entry stats in his first game with the Wild on December 14th. Loucks found that "Hughes went a perfect 9-for-9 on zone exits...and 5-for-5 on zone entries as well." Moreover, when Hughes was on the ice, the Wild "went 32-for-34 on zone exit attempts for a 94% success rate with him on the ice."
Luke Schenn, Hughes' defensive partner in his Canucks debut, recalled watching his first NHL game: "He was a one-man breakout. No stress in his game. So much poise. His skating was insane. Right then and there, I knew he was going to be special." From that moment on, Hughes' game has only evolved, and he has since been named one of the first six players selected for Team USA's Olympic roster.
For the Wild, the trade was worth it for the remainder of Hughes' contract alone. But Bill Guerin—President of Hockey Operations and General Manager for the Minnesota Wild, as well as the GM for Team USA Hockey—is thinking even bigger. "I think Quinn will really like it here. He’s a hockey nut. He watches every game. He knows what’s going on in the League. Getting to know him through the 4 Nations process he just loves hockey. And I think there’s no better market than Minnesota to be a hockey player. I believe in our team and our culture and our organization and our market, our fans, our – I mean, hockey’s in the fabric here, and I think he’ll really like it."
Former Canucks teammate and Minnesota native Brock Boeser echoed that sentiment, "He just wants to win, that's who he is. He wants to win so bad, and he's very driven to be the best player he can be and help a team out. I think he's just super happy he's in a winning culture, and if they keep winning, I don't see why he wouldn't resign."
All of that belief appears to be shared by Hughes himself. In his first press conference with the Wild, when asked about his potential to re-sign long-term, Hughes said he would be "extremely open-minded."
This trade has quickly turned the Central Division into even more of a gauntlet. As it stands, the top three teams in the NHL standings all come from this division. From a defenseman's perspective, three of the league's elite blue-liners now call the division home with Cale Makar in Colorado, Miro Heiskanen in Dallas, and Quinn Hughes in Minnesota. There's also an exciting Olympic ripple effect. With Hughes now in Minnesota, Team USA gets over a month to build chemistry between an elite pairing, as Hughes and Brock Faber are currently skating together for the Wild. It's an undeniably thrilling and entertaining time for hockey fans—but don't worry, Hughes still brought his haunted look with him.
In the end, the trade is less about winners and losers and more about the direction each franchise is heading. For Vancouver, it signals a new era, as the organization has finally chosen clarity over lingering in limbo. A painful move for everyone involved, but one that could set the Canucks up for long-term success.
Just over a week removed from the trade, Vancouver has rattled off four straight wins and remains perfect since moving Hughes. One wildcard in the deal was Liam Öhgren, and he has shown up immediately. In his 18 games with Minnesota earlier this season, Öhgren recorded 0 points. Through his first four games as a Canuck he has two goals, one assist, and scored the lone shootout goal to secure a win against the Boston Bruins. When asked about his performance, Öhgren said, "I wanted to make a good first impression. It feels like I've done that, and I've just got to keep working and, yeah, keep building on this."
Meanwhile, Minnesota's Cup window is now open. The Wild have gone 4-1 since the trade, transforming in a matter of days from a strong team into a true contender. It's fitting that Hughes finds himself in yet another hockey-obsessed market, one ready to embrace both his talent and his passion for the game.
This trade will be debated for years, but at its core, the message is simple. Vancouver chose the future, and Minnesota landed a franchise-altering player in Quinn Hughes.
Edited by: Kelly Cassette
Comments