Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Well, they did it again. The Vancouver Canucks have traded their Captain mid-season, the second in three years (Bo Horvat 2023, Quinn Hughes 2025). Horvat was shipped off to the New York Islanders for two Forwards and a 1st round pick. Hughes was just traded to the Minnesota Wild for two promising young players, a 1st round pick, and another player who has yet to adjust to the speed of NHL play. Seems like a fair trade and a win-win for both teams, right? Let's take a look.

The Canucks have been downright awful this year. Some had playoff expectations for them again, but I did not. I at least thought they would be close to a Wild Card spot. Instead, they are sitting rock bottom of the NHL with 11 wins and a meager 25 team points. (2 points are earned from Wins, 1 point is earned from an Overtime Loss). You can do the math on that one. Vancouver has let up a league-worst 111 goals so far this season behind some atrocious defense and goaltending. Neither one of these superstar goalies that they paid hand over fist for have a save percentage above .900. After taking a look at their team needs and the trajectory of the season, Vancouver shipped off their only good defensive piece and waved the white flag.

For Minnesota, this is an amazing pickup. Quinn Hughes is a rare breed and one of the only true five-tool players around. He's a Defenseman with incredible puck handling, skating, and shooting abilities. He plays on both the Power Play and Penalty Kill units. Above all, he is a terrific defender. This is a franchise altering move for them, and my heart tells me they aren't done yet. The Wild started out hot but have sense cooled off. They find themselves in 3rd place in the Central behind the juggernauts in Colorado and Dallas, and Utah is hot on their tracks. All three of those teams are outscoring and outpacing Minnesota by a considerable margin. Now was the perfect time to make this move. Hughes will plug right into their lineup and fit in very nicely with their other young stars like Kirill "The Thrill" Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber. Their breakout goaltender, Jesper Wallstedt, will now get even more help in front of him.

Alright, now that all the details are out of the way, what are the implications? The Wild have Hughes under contract through the 2026-27 season and can extend him as early as the coming offseason, assuming they also don't trade him. But, is this where Hughes really wants to be? He made it known to the Canucks that he did not want to be a part of whatever rebuild they were doing, so his departure should not be a surprise. Many, including myself, speculated that he would be traded to the New Jersey Devils to play with his two brothers, Jack and Luke Hughes. The common consensus now is that he will sign with them in free agency once his contract expires. But again, I interject. I've watched Quinn play for a long time, and I know that he is a very smart player and person. He cares about his legacy more than anything. He knows he's a talented player. If Minnesota were to make the Stanley Cup Finals and maybe even win, I don't think he would leave so soon. If they keep losing in the First Round every year, then yeah, he might. Realistically, this is a very good team who needed a spark to reignite them. When they're hot, they're hot, and it takes a lot to cool them down. We'll see how this trade plays out for both sides, but I think Minnesota is by far the winner of this deal. I think this could be the start of something very special.