Article: Overpaying For Quinn Hughes Is Impossible

[Pewterschmidt]

Just now, Pewterschmidt said:

This trade takes this one and done group and makes us cup contenders?  WTF an I missing?

Or are we in the 24 hour post trade hopium window

[Burnt Toast]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Can we now spend assets on forwards?

QH is a point per game guy and that’s going to help. Finding a forward that can score, plays physical and is defensively responsible  would be worth spending the assets on. I’m not sure what players the Wild can reasonably offer at this point, maybe next year’s first? 

[Pewterschmidt]

2 minutes ago, Burnt Toast said:

I’m not sure what players the Wild can reasonably offer at this point, maybe next year’s first? 

I guess you mean year after next years first.  
#Fletcherera

[Pewterschmidt]

[Burnt Toast]

39 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I guess you mean year after next years first

That’s exactly right. If my math holds up that’s the July 2027 pick. Wow we’re running out of tradable assets quickly. We’re in uncharted territory. At least the remaining Wild players can drop “The Expendables” flair. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Burnt Toast said:

QH is a point per game guy and that’s going to help. Finding a forward that can score, plays physical and is defensively responsible  would be worth spending the assets on. I’m not sure what players the Wild can reasonably offer at this point, maybe next year’s first? 

Quinn Hughes has been playing 27.5 minutes per game and does not have a point per game this season. He has been involved in less than 1 goal every 30 minutes.

Vancouver has the 3nd worst PK this season, and were they using the guy that a bunch of people here have been calling the 2nd best defenseman to help that unit?

No, a former NHL defenseman has been choosing to not use Quinn Hughes on his penalty kill unit. Is that first year coach tanking or is Quinn Hughes not ideal for the penalty kill unit?

If he really is not good at killing penalties(I don't know, I'm just asking the question), how could he be considered a top 5 defenseman?

I'm not going to be cheering for the move to fail, but I don't know that it's going to go incredibly well. It sounded to me as though Vancouver might have really wanted Buium given that they seemed to bring Hughes up to the Wild rather than the other way around. I hope Guerin has the assets to add an impact forward down the road.

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Or are we in the 24 hour post trade hopium window

Yes.

No.

Maybe...

[Patrick]

Hughes is better than Kaprizov. Let that sink in. This team is loaded with talent. 

Hopefully we can resign him.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

59 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Hughes is better than Kaprizov. Let that sink in. This team is loaded with talent.

Not true, but it would be exciting if it were.

[Burnt Toast]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

less than 1 goal every 30 minutes

He’s not really a goal scorer but definitely an elite set up guy. I was referencing his career point totals. 459 games 432 points most of which are assists. So getting his skill set to mesh with the Wild’s current goal scorers will be key. 

[Willy the poor boy]

1 hour ago, FredJohnson said:

Yes.

No.

Maybe...

Exactly...

[Pablo]

So they say its only a half season in ‘25 but in reality its 60-70 games this season that we get Hughes. 50 more in the regular season and minimum 4 in the playoffs….🤣  Reality is closer to 12 minimum. Bet on the OVER 12. Cup run here we come!!

[Patrick]

47 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Not true, but it would be exciting if it were.

He is one of the two best defenseman in the NHL. Kaprizov is the 3rd best wing by the most optimistic assessment. Hughes is CLEARLY a better player.  No knock on Kap, Hughes is just that good.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

2 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

4 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

less than 1 goal every 30 minutes

He’s not really a goal scorer but definitely an elite set up guy. I was referencing his career point totals. 459 games 432 points most of which are assists. So getting his skill set to mesh with the Wild’s current goal scorers will be key.

I meant less than 1 point per 30 minutes played this season. He's on pace for less than 1 goal every 10 games so far this year.

I'm mildly coming around to him on the Wild, but still think the Wild gave up too many assets, possibly leaving them a forward short of what's needed come playoff time.

I have trouble with the notion that a defender who doesn't kill penalties could be considered a top 3 defenseman, but I understand he is very dynamic offensively, and I'll be interested to see how it works out. I'll also be more interested than ever in Vancouver's season.

[Pablo]

2 hours ago, Patrick said:

He is one of the two best defenseman in the NHL. Kaprizov is the 3rd best wing by the most optimistic assessment. Hughes is CLEARLY a better player.  No knock on Kap, Hughes is just that good.

I agree, statistically speaking, Hughes is technically more valuable than KK. The importance of have 2 of the top 10 guys in their prime cannot be understated. Until they play together, it will be hard for aome fans to understand just how stellar this trade is for the franchise. Enjoy the ride!!

Most fans don't even know that KK is 3 years older than Hughes. All the talk in 6 months will be about how can BG be xtend his contract for 7-8 more seasons. 

[OldDutchChip]

47 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I meant less than 1 point per 30 minutes played this season. He's on pace for less than 1 goal every 10 games so far this year.

I'm mildly coming around to him on the Wild, but still think the Wild gave up too many assets, possibly leaving them a forward short of what's needed come playoff time.

I have trouble with the notion that a defender who doesn't kill penalties could be considered a top 3 defenseman, but I understand he is very dynamic offensively, and I'll be interested to see how it works out. I'll also be more interested than ever in Vancouver's season.

point production is a nice stat, but it's still early and Canucks really did suck. i think point wise - he'll still be closer to 80 when season is done with. 

his other metrics are still off the chart and he still drives the play like a monster and is a PP nightmare. imagine him with faber and boldy and kap....

this also allows us to push Faber to N2 on D - which now gives him an assignment he is more suitable for - I think it may have eaten at him a bit with Buium getting PP time over him, which may have felt like a demotion in favor of a kid (Buium) - which had to be in the back of his mind and nag him - he is human after all - and now - i think he should be content and at peace. Hughes is unquestionable offensive dynamo and belongs on PP1 and he is more than an "equal" partner for Faber. And Faber would likely be motivated to learn from and push him to greater heights. This should be amazing for Faber.

not to mention older defensive hooligans like Spurgy and Brodin, who now get lesser matchups and can dominate those. it takes pressure off them - our defense is basically unrivaled. Adding Hughes to an already rock solid D is huge. Now we have that offensive dynamo leading us. The ice will tilt in our favor most nights - and apart from Avs, i really don't see any other teams comparing favorably against us. 

Would it be crazy if QH get's a hat trick tomorrow? 🤔

[PNW Wild]

7 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

This trade takes this one and done group and makes us cup contenders?  WTF an I missing?

A legit top line center... We can compare our D corps to the Stars and Avs all day but they still have the far superior talent at the center position. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

24 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Would it be crazy if QH get's a hat trick tomorrow?

Yes, it would be crazy considering it would be his first ever.

I understand that Hughes is better than Buium today and fits the timeline a bit better, but I was bought in on Buium's future and now another fan base will get that.

The 4 for 1 asset swap is more than I'm comfortable with, but I'm sure the hockey will be exciting.

I'd be more excited to have found a way to move Rossi, Ohgren, and some pick combination for Pastrnak(or other high end scoring forward while retaining Buium), but I guess an undersized offensive defenseman in his prime instead of a mid-sized rookie offensive defenseman(who has 12-16 years of quality play ahead) is what Wild fans get.

Edited 8 hours ago by Imyourhuckleberry

[OldDutchChip]

2 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yes, it would be crazy considering it would be his first ever.

I understand that Hughes is better than Buium today and fits the timeline a bit better, but I was bought in on Buium's future and now another fan base will get that.

The 4 for 1 asset swap is more than I'm comfortable with, but I'm sure the hockey will be exciting.

I'd be more excited to have found a way to move Rossi, Ohgren, and some pick combination for Pastrnak(or other high end scoring forward while retaining Buium), but I guess a an offensive defenseman in his prime instead of a rookie offensive defenseman(who has 12-16 years of quality play ahead) is what Wild fans get.

I understand that Hughes is better than Buium today and fits the timeline a bit better, but I was bought in on Buium's future and now another fan base will get that. Zeev can develop into an all world player (or not) but that was on a different timeline - not our timeline. our timeline aligns with Kaprizov and Boldy and Ek. Their peak. We are bringing a player that fits perfectly into that very same timeline. Not just a player - a superstar D.  We now have two tier 1 players and the way Boldy is playing - it's not too far-fetched to say he might join them too. the team with most talent has the edge. there is no other team with more talent now, other than the Avs. 

The 4 for 1 asset swap is more than I'm comfortable with, but I'm sure the hockey will be exciting. Rossi was going to be gone....we all knew it, Liam was not showing anything other than possible 3W spot (at best), pick is a pick (future - who knows who that'll be and likely a late rounder anyway) and Zeev is still just 20.

We moved uncertainty for certainty and giving us the most ammunition to battle it out and actually have a chance. not just to sneak in and MAYBE ride the Gus bus to victory.....no now we are feared and respected. 

I think this is a brilliant move. And timing is perfect too. He'll have enough time to mesh with the team and i really hope we get Stars. and we finally take it to them. 

Enjoy the ride!

[Imyourhuckleberry]

I still haven't seen anyone talk specifically about defense for Quinn Hughes. Is he good at defense? He's fast, so one would think he has the potential to be good, but the metric shown indicates he is actually a negative defender, and he's small.

Did they Wild get just an offensive dynamo or a complete player on the back end?

Vancouver has 26 goals for and 33 against even strength with Hughes this year, so he's in the negative there. They also have 15 PP goals and 3 against with him on the ice for nearly 5 minutes per game(125 total PP minutes).

The Wild had 14 goals for and 0 goals against with Buium on the PP for 3:04 per night(95 total minutes). I'm not saying that Buium drove all the scoring, but I'd hate to think that it's mostly volume(high minutes) that truly differentiates Quinn Hughes from Buium in point production.

Vancouver is not a great team, but Quinn Hughes is the captain of that team and had quarterbacked the PP1, so part of them not being great was related to him. If he's not a great shut down defender, and Buium exceeds him there within a couple of year, the Wild may have traded away the better future and a bunch of assets with it.

It would be exciting to see the Wild in the finals. It remains to be seen if this move gets them closer or not. I'm skeptical, but interested in seeing how it plays out.

[Will D. Ness]

23 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I'm skeptical, but interested in seeing how it plays out.

I think it's going to be good.  Our PP is so awful right now that he instantly will make us better.  

I will be watching his d game though.  That is where I am skeptical.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Quote

 

When The Athletic surveyed executives from different NHL teams, most gave the Canucks high marks for landing this lucrative package of young assets.

Buium is the piece that Canucks fans should be salivating about. The 20-year-old left-shot defender was one of the best players in college hockey the last couple of years. He’s an elite skater, is already a capable PP1 quarterback...

 

Hughes had informed Vancouver in the summer that he was not going to re-sign with them, so they had to trade him, and I guess they wanted a dynamic offensive defenseman in return.

Seems as though it was Vancouver that gave Minnesota indications to inquire about Hughes. I think the Wild could have made a better deal. I didn't want this particular trade, as I think the wild should have received more if they were trading all of those assets(mostly Buium), but it certainly brings a lot of interest to both franchises.

You have some people saying that Quinn Hughes can elevate a team a couple of tiers, but Vancouver is last in the entire NHL--obviously, this is GM related and Quinn Hughes does not create the team, but if he's elevating that team to the tune of last place in points, that roster must really be horrific.

A lot of times when GMs attempt to accelerate their timelines, they fail to create a title team, but maybe this time will be different. Perhaps Guerin is smarter than fans give him credit for???

I guess we can hope for that. Go Wild!

[raithis]

I said this another thread, but for anyone saying the Wild gave up too much, it's just the cost of getting a player of that caliber.

When the Matthew Tkachuk trade happened, I thought Florida gave up WAY too much.  Huberdeau had a strong season and was looking like a great center that could get better.  Weegar was a pretty good defender.  Schwindt was a prospect that was kind of a throw in, and Calgary got Florida's 1st round pick.

All Florida received was Tkachuk.  It didn't seem to be enough.

Rossi and Buium are good players who will keep improving.  Will they collectively be better than Huberdeau and Weegar?  Maybe.  But they aren't even as good as Huberdeau and Weegar were at the time of that trade.  Ohgren is slowly improving and should be a bit better than Schwindt.  A draft pick is a dice roll.  I fact, all these guys are dice rolls about what we hope they could be.

As was said already, we are getting certainty for potential - and the player is in their prime.  If it were Fletcher, it would have been someone like Karlsson.  Sure, he's still a good player, but he's not what he was and he's in the twilight of his career.

I'm nervous about trading out so much youth and potential, and I'm anxious and whether Hughes will be interested in re-signing next year, but high end players like this don't become available very often.  Could Hughes be the Wild"s missing piece like Tkachuk was for Florida?  I don't know. 

What I do know is that players like Hughes I their prime are rarely available, and with the free agency and trade markets being what they are, most teams have death grips and these types of players unless they want out - and teams looking to transcend into contenders need to be willing to reach for those players if they can work out a deal.

I remain nervous and anxious about the trade, but I'm a methodical, play-it-safe type person.  Sometimes a GM has to be willing to gamble, and that's why I'd probably make a terrible GM.

[raithis]

1 minute ago, raithis said:

 someone like Karlsson.  Sure, he's still a good player

I should clarify that I've always disliked Karlsson as a player and don't really think he is that good personally, but most people have a much more favorable view of his game than I do.

I thought about using Josi as an example, but I think much higher of Josi, and my bias against Karlsson led me to use him as the example because I feel like it would be a more Fletcheresque move.