Wild Acquire Quinn Hughes From Canucks in Blockbuster Trade

Quinn Hughes was dealt to the Wild after seven-plus seasons with the Canucks | Bob Frid-Imagn Images

The Canucks have traded two-time All-Star defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Wild in exchange for defenseman Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi, leftwinger Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick.

Vancouver’s captain is off to Minnesota in a blockbuster deal, which was reported by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan Friday night. The first-round pick Vancouver receives in the deal will be in the 2026 NHL draft, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Hughes, the No. 7 pick in the 2018 draft, was named the Canucks’ captain ahead of the ’23-24 season. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in his first season wearing the “C” on his sweater in Vancouver, becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Norris.

Amid an 11-17-3 start to the season, which has Vancouver at the bottom of the Pacific Division, the Canucks bring in several young players and a draft pick to rebuild. Hughes doesn’t land with his brothers Jack and Luke, who are both signed to long-term contracts with the Devils, but he does land with the 17-9-5 Wild alongside franchise cornerstone Kirill Kaprizov, who inked an eight-year extension before the season started. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Devils made an offer to unite the Hughes brothers, but it didn’t generate enough traction.

The Canucks were candidates to look toward a rebuild after their sluggish start, but a late-November report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Vancouver was making its veteran players available. However, trading Hughes was not a priority. Hughes has one more year on his contract beyond the 2025–26 season, and now appears to be a key piece in Minnesota for years to come should an extension follow.

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