Is the Quinn Hughes Trade the Biggest Ever for a Former College Player? Puck Drop

If your jaw hit the ground with the blockbuster deal sending former Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild on Friday, you’re not alone.

It’s not so much that struggling Vancouver didn’t wait to deal Hughes, who is widely regarded as the best defenseman in the world not named Cale Makar (Massachusetts), or that Minnesota is making a run at the Stanley Cup after general manager Bill Guerin (Boston College) signed Kirill Kaprizov to a record-setting 8-year, $136 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in the National Hockey League.

Look at what the Canucks got in return: center Marco Rossi, forward Liam Öhgren, defenseman Zeev Buium (Denver) and a first-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Buium was the 12th-overall selection in the 2024 draft, Rossi was the ninth-overall pick in 2020, and Ohgren was the 19th-overall player taken in 2022 out of Sweden. So the Wild essentially gave up four young first-round talents for Hughes, who himself was drafted seventh overall in 2018 and developed into the Canucks team captain and Norris Trophy winner.

We may not know for a long time if it was truly worth it, especially since Hughes can't be extended until July 1, 2026, and his longterm status may not be elsewhere there’s been a lot of talk that he’d like to someday play with his brothers currently on the New Jersey Devils (Jake and Luke). However, it may already be the biggest trade ever for an NHL player out of a college program.

Before we start doing some comparisons, a couple of the biggest trades in league history need to be mentioned, as this isn’t on par. First, of course, is what they still call “The Trade” in some places, Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. The cash-strapped Oilers received Jimmy Carson (American, but didn’t play collegiately), Martin Gelinas, three first-round draft picks (1989, 1991, 1993 used on Jason Miller, Martin Rucinsky and Nick Stajduhar), plus $15 million in cash, and also sent Mike Krushelnyski, and Marty McSorley with Gretzky to L.A.

He didn’t win a Stanley Cup with the Kings, but considering all the teams now on the West Coast his influence on league growth was immeasurable.

Meanwhile, when the Philadelphia Flyers landed Eric Lindros in 1992, it cost them Steve Duchesne Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, $15 million, a 1993 first-round round draft pick (which was used on Jocelyn Thibault), and future considerations that ended up being Chris Simon and a 1994 first-round pick (Nolan Baumgartner). Lindros never won a Stanley Cup, and the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995, and won the franchise’s first of three Stanley Cups in 1996 (2001 and 2022 the others).

How good is Quinn Hughes? pic.twitter.com/ZN7NXeTtrz
— Big Head Hockey (@bigheadhockey) December 13, 2025

With that in mind, here's a bunch of trades involving Americans and former collegiate players:

Big-Name Trades of American/College Players

Brett Hull: On March 7, 1988, the Calgary Flames sent 23-year-old forward Brett Hull out of Minnesota Duluth and Steve Bozek(Northern Michigan) to the St. Louis Blues for veteran defenseman Rob Ramage and goaltender Rick Wamsley as the Flames were trying to win the Stanley Cup (they fell short, swept by the Edmonton Oilers in the division finals). Ramage and Wamsley did help Calgary win a Stanley Cup in 1989, but the deal is still considered lopsided as Hull went on to score more than 500 goals for the Blues.

Patrick Kane: Out of the U.S. Developmental Team Program, Patrick Kane was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the New York Rangers in February 2023, for a conditional 2023 second-round pick, a 2023 fourth-round pick, and defenseman Andy Welinski (Minnesota Duluth). Kane finished the season and subsequently signed with the Detroit Red Wins.

Patrick LaFontaine: American Pat LaFontaine never played college hockey either, but after refusing to report to the New York Islanders for the start of the 1991-92 season was part of a huge deal that sent him to Buffalo with Randy Wood (Yake), Randy Hillier, and a draft pick, in exchanged for Pierre Turgeon, Benoit Hogue, Uwe Krupp, and Dave McLlwain.

Chris Chelios: In 1990, the Chicago Blackhawks acquired former Wisconsin defenseman Chris Chelios and a second-round draft pick from Montreal for center Denis Savard. The Blackhawks got the better end of the deal, although Savard won a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens and both players are in the Hokey Hall of Fame.

Kieth Tkachuk: That same year, Buffalo acquired Dale Hawerchuk and a first-round draft pick for Scott Arniel, Phil Housley (for a while was the all-time leading scorer among American-born players), Jeff Parker and a 1990 first-round draft pick that the Winipeg Jets used on former Boston University power forward Keith Tkachuk (No. 19 overall). The Jets moved to Phoenix and in 2001 the Coyotes traded their team captain Tkachuk to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe (Minnesota), and a first-round pick (used to select Dion Phaneuf)

Joe Nieuwendyk: When the Dallas Stars acquired the Hall of Fame forward out of Cornell on December 19, 1995, they gave up Jarome Iginla and Corey Millen (Minnesota).

Recent Big Trades of American/College Players

February 26, 2018: When former NTDP forward J.T. Miller and former Wisconsin defenseman Ryan McDonagh were sent to the Tamp Bay Lightning, the New York Rangers received Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, a 2018 first-round pick and a 2019 conditional second-round pick

November 4, 2021: Former Boston University forward Jack Eichel and a 2023 third-round pick was sent from Buffalo to Las Vegas for Alex Tuch (Boston College), Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round round pick and a 2023 second-round pick. Both Tuck and Krebs had been frist-round draft picks.

July 22, 2022: The Florida Panthers acquired former U.S. National Developmental Team forward Matthew Tkachuk and a 2025 conditional fourth-round pick from Calgary for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a 2025 conditional first-round pick. The Panthers have been to the last three Stanley Cup Finals and won the last two.

March 7, 2024: Former Omaha left wing Jake Guentzel was traded by Pittsburgh to Carolina along with Ty Smith for Michael Bunting, Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius along with a 2024 conditional first-round round draft pick (if Hurricanes advanced to Stanly Cup finals — they did not) and a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick (if they won).

Notable Deals of Former College Players

• Former Boston University defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was about to be a free agent when the St. Louis Blues traded him to the Washington Capitals in 2017 along with Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech) for forwards Zach Sanford (Boston College), Brad Malone (North Dakota) and two draft picks

• When former Maine goaltender Ben Bishop went from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Los Angeles Kings in 2017, the Kings were looking for someone work with Jonathan Quick (UMass), who had been out for most of the season. They have up goalie Peter Budaj, defenseman Erik Cernak and two draft picks for Bishop and a fifth-round selection..

• Former Vermont standout Martin St. Louis was about to be a free agent in 2014 when the Tampa Bay Lightning sent their team captain to the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan (an American who didn’t play collegiately), and the teams swapped draft picks. St. Louis helped the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but they lost to the Kings. Ironically, St. Louis’ last game of his career was in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Lightning and Callahan.

• That same season former Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller was set to be a free agent with Buffalo shipped him and Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forwards Chris Stewart and William Carrier, and two draft picks.

And then there’s Phill Kessel …

Of course we should mention trade magnet Phil Kessel out of Minnesota, who has been part of numerous big trades during his career:

In 2009, he was in a contract dispute with the Boston Bruins, who sent him to Toronto for two first-round draft picks (Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton) and a second-round selection (Jared Knight),

In 2015, he awas was sent from Toronto to Pittsburgh along with Tim Erixon, Tyler Biggs and a conditional second-round pick (Kasper Bjorkqvist) for Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Spaling, Scott Harrington, a first-round round pick (Sam Steel) and a third 3rd-round selection (J.D. Greenway). The Penguins won two Stanley Cups with him on the roster.

Four years later, in 2019, Kessel was sent with a fourth-round pick and Dane Birks from Pittsburgh to the Coyotes for Alex Galchenyuk, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and a fourth-round pick.

For more on the Quinn Hughes Trade, check out Break Away On SI:

• Canucks Send Quinn Hughes to Wild in Blockbuster Trade

• Devils Made Serious Push for Quinn Hughes Trade

WILD FANS, HOW ARE YOU FEELING?! 😮

Here's a taste of what you can look forward to seeing from Quinn Hughes!

Top Plays presented by @Enterprise pic.twitter.com/QfS3XVeGC3
— NHL (@NHL) December 13, 2025

Puck Drop: Saturday, November 13, 2025

• Two goals from Carter Sanderson and a 30-save night from Caleb Heil led the U.S. Junior Select Team to a 4-2 win over Sweden in the semifinal of the 2025 World Junior A Challenge in Quebec. Team USA will face Canada West in the championshipSaturday night. Sanderson, Ashton Schultz and Colin Frank all scored to help the U.S. take a 3-0 lead, and then Sanderson got an empty-netter to close the scoring. "We played a very good team tonight, and our ability to execute in odd-man situations changed the game for us," head coach Andy Brandt said. "Both line rush goals we scored showed great deception and finish. Caleb made some big-time saves when we needed them."

• Cannon Thibodeau had a goal and two assists as the U.S. National Under-17 Team defeated Switzerland 7-2 in its second game of the Vierumaki Cup in Finland. The U.S. put 34 shots on net. Nate Chizik made 21 stops to get the win. The team came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat host Finaland in its opener, 4-2. Nolan Fitzhenry had two goals, both created by Team's forechecking. The U17s will play in the semifinalsSaturday morning

• The Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R.452) was signed into law, honoring the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team to recognize the 45th anniversary of its championship in the Winter Olympic Games. the bill passed the House of Representatives and Senate in September.

• Scott Sandelin coached his 1,000th game at Minnesota Duluth, a 3-1 victory over Arizona State. "It's really special, obviously I've only been a small time of his time here, it's crazy how long he's been here, a 1,000 games in college hockey is crazy," UMD captain Joey Pierce said. "It's special that we got to be a part of it and unbelievable that we got a win. All he said was that he wanted a win and we were able to do that for him."

• Augustana notched the first upset of the weekend. Junior forward Brett Meerman had two goals and junior goaltender Josh Kotai made 33 saves, including 22 in the second period, as Augustana men's hockey knocked off No. 14 Minnesota State, 3-1, Friday night at Midco Arena. It was the first win for the Vikings (9-5-2 overall, 6-4-2 CCHA) over the Mavericks in program history. The series will wrap on Saturday with Minnesota State (11-4-4, 8-3-2 CCHA) looking to even the series during its final game of 2025.

Smooth 😎

📺/ 📷: https://t.co/pNc6decMSS pic.twitter.com/cMGfmLWskr
— Augustana Men's Hockey (@AugieMHockey) December 13, 2025

Friday's Scores

MEN
CCHA
Michigan Tech 3, Ferris State 2
St. Thomas 2, Northern Michigan 0
Aughustana 3, No. 14 Minnesota State 1

NCHC
No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 3, Arizona State 1
No. 6 Denver 5, St. Cloud State 1
No. 19 Colorado College 4, Miami 4 (SO)
No. 4 North Dakota 4, Omaha 1

Non-Conference
No. 8 Dartmouth 3, Army 0
Merrimack 4, Yale 1
Union 5, Alaska 1

Exhibition
US Under-18 3, St. Lawrence 2

WOMEN
Friday's Games
Non-Conference
Dartmouth 10, Saint Michael's 0
Robert Morris 2, Long Island 0

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Saturday's Schedule

Saturday's Games
CCHA
Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 6 ET
St. Thomas at Northern Michigan, 6 ET
No. 14 Minnesota State at Augustana, 6 CT

Hockey East
No. 20 Boston University at No. 11 Northeastern, NESN, 7 p.m. ET

NCHC
Arizona State at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, 5 p.m. CT
No. 6 Denver at St. Cloud State, 6 p.m. CT
No. 19 Colorado College at Miami, 6:05 ET
Omaha at No. 4 North Dakota, 6:07 CT

Non-Conference
Alaska at Union, 5 p.m. ET
Army at Vermont, 6 p.m. ET
Long Island at Merrimack, 6 p.m. ET
Lindenwood at No. 15 Maine, 6:30 ET

Exhibition
US Under-18 at Clarkson, 2 p.m. ET

WOMEN
Non-Conference
Saint Anselm at Dartmouth, 2 p.m. ET
Long Island at Robert Morris, 3 p.m. ET

One rink. Generations of greatness. pic.twitter.com/z8hQupYLWA
— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) December 12, 2025

This Date in Hockey History:

December 13, 1905: U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Moe Roberts was born in Waterbury, Connecticut.

December 13, 1951: Denver defenseman Mike Busniuk was born Thunder Bay, Ontario.

December 13, 1953: Hall of Fame left wing Bob Gainey was born in Peterborough, Ontario.

December 13, 1969: Hall of Fame center Sergei Federov was born in Pshov, USSR.

December 13, 1975: Lake Superior State left wing Bates Battaglia was born in Chicago.

December 13, 1985: St. Cloud State right wing Andrew Gordon was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

December 13, 1987: Former Cornell center Joe Nieuwendyk became the first NHL rookie since Cully Wilson of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1919-20 to have two four-goal games in the same season when he scored four times to lead Calgary to a 7-1 victory at Buffalo.

December 13, 1989: Former North Dakota left wing Bob Joyce was traded by the Boston Bruins to Washington for former UND right wing Dave Christian (they had not been teammates).

December 13, 1992: Manon Rheaume became the first woman to appear in a regular-season professional hockey game when she played for six minutes during the second period for Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League (IHL). She gave up one goal on four shots as Atlanta lost 3-1 to the Salt Lake.

December 13, 1993: Former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter notched his sixth career shutout as the New York Rangers defeated visiting Buffalo 2-0.

December 13, 1994: Met Center in Bloomington, Minn., the former home of the Minnesota North Stars, was demolished.

December 13, 1995: The Philadelphia Flyers acquired former Minnesota right wing Trent Klatt from Dallas for Brent Fedyk.

December 13, 1997: St. Cloud State center Blake Lizotte was born in Lindstrom, Minn.

December 13, 2015: Patrick Kane extended his point streak to 26 consecutive games, the longest in NHL history by an American-Born player. He had an assist in Chicago’s 4-0 victory over Vancouver.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“When I was growing up, I played hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball. It was more making sure that I stayed healthy and in shape and getting fresh air rather than sitting at home playing video games or something. That was my childhood, right there.”
Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College)

Check us Out On:

• Twitter/X
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Threads
• Blue Sky

We'll Leave You With This ...

999 games ... and counting .... pic.twitter.com/geySbvb8PH
— UMD Men's Hockey (@UMDMensHockey) December 11, 2025