Quinn Hughes Already Has A Gamebreaking Playoff History

But is he big enough?

Asking for a friend.

His reputation definitely precedes him, but so far, I'm not that impressed. His first game in green, he looked and played the part. Other than two slip and falls, he seemed to be in total control of the play when he was on the ice. It's not even that he scored, he just looked better than everyone else out there. I was sold that Billy finally made a good decision, for once. The next two games, not so much. He isn't driving the play or making people miss, instead he is deferring. I don't know if he feels less responsibility or doesn't want to step on toes, but he needs to be the QB and drive the play. I know it's very early, he is still acclimating and syncing up with his new teammates, but with his pedigree, they should be adjusting to him. He should be in control and playing his game. If the Wild force him into their defense is all that matters system, then this isn't going to work out very well.

I also noticed other teams hit and push him a lot behind the play. That would get very annoying and tiring, I'm sure.

Even better, Kaprizov's and especially Boldy's PPG rates are suppressed by their first couple of years of poorer playoff performances.  I'd expect a lot closer to 0.8 - 1.0+ PPG from both of them this year and next.

Oh who could forget the great Sergei Zholtok..........

2 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

he is still acclimating

Nice observation. In an interview he mentioned he wanted to be respectful to the players already on the team as he integrated. I’ve come to believe that the relationships between professional athletes on any given team are extremely important to the teams’ overall success. As a side note I think the way players from all over the world need to get along with each other in order to win is kind of cool. 

I hope we can reduce his and Faber's minutes by about 5 minutes a game so they wont be so tired come playoff time.

7 minutes ago, TCMooch said:

I hope we can reduce his and Faber's minutes by about 5 minutes a game so they wont be so tired come playoff time.

Plus the Olympics will take it's toll on them too.  

4 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

His reputation definitely precedes him, but so far, I'm not that impressed.

Lol of course not, then you would have to admit that the GM did a good thing. 

Since Quinn Hughes has joined, Minnesota has outscored opponents 16-4. Which is, by far, their best stretch of the season. And they've done that while missing two entire lines of starters. And yes, Quinn Hughes has been a huge part of that. 

1 hour ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Lol of course not, then you would have to admit that the GM did a good thing. 

Since Quinn Hughes has joined, Minnesota has outscored opponents 16-4. Which is, by far, their best stretch of the season. And they've done that while missing two entire lines of starters. And yes, Quinn Hughes has been a huge part of that. 

Pesky facts.

On 12/19/2025 at 3:10 PM, B1GKappa97 said:

Lol of course not, then you would have to admit that the GM did a good thing. 

Since Quinn Hughes has joined, Minnesota has outscored opponents 16-4. Which is, by far, their best stretch of the season. And they've done that while missing two entire lines of starters. And yes, Quinn Hughes has been a huge part of that. 

Of those 16 goals, Hughes had 1 goal and 1 assist and was a +1, while averaging nearly 30 minutes per game. So, not that impressive for someone rated higher than KK. He had his second assist today when the Wild scored 5 more goals.

Time will tell. It's definitely a slow start for someone of his skill considering how many goals the Wild are scoring right now. He's still deferring to other players instead of taking control. He needs some of Faber's puck hog mentality!

1 hour ago, Scalptrash said:

It's definitely a slow start for someone of his skill considering how many goals the Wild are scoring right now. He's still deferring to other players instead of taking control. He needs some of Faber's puck hog mentality!

Probably a good thing. I saw someone on the Vancouver site say they were a little tired of watching Hughes just skate around while everyone was watching, then unleashing a 70 MPH wrist shot into the goalie.

The team results are better for both franchises since the trade, but Vancouver hasn't been playing great teams.

Liam Ohgren also just lit the lamp to win the shootout after the first 6 attempts from both teams failed to find twine. Canucks and Wild both undefeated since the trade! Both will be tested in their next games. Wild face Colorado at home while the Canucks face the Flyers(2nd in a very tight East race for points%) in Philly. 10 teams between 43 and 40 standings points in the East, so Flyers need points to maintain a playoff pace.

On 12/20/2025 at 9:08 PM, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Probably a good thing. I saw someone on the Vancouver site say they were a little tired of watching Hughes just skate around while everyone was watching, then unleashing a 70 MPH wrist shot into the goalie.

The team results are better for both franchises since the trade, but Vancouver hasn't been playing great teams.

Liam Ohgren also just lit the lamp to win the shootout after the first 6 attempts from both teams failed to find twine. Canucks and Wild both undefeated since the trade! Both will be tested in their next games. Wild face Colorado at home while the Canucks face the Flyers(2nd in a very tight East race for points%) in Philly. 10 teams between 43 and 40 standings points in the East, so Flyers need points to maintain a playoff pace.

I suspect Billy traded for the Makar version, not the Jiricek version. I really expected him to be more visible and hopefully make a difference against Colorado. He looked like a passenger and was a -1. So, in my humble opinion, I'm not impressed. He is supposedly rated 7th overall in the NHL and Kaprizov 10th. I expect to see generational greatness. He looked the best in his first game with the Wild, pretty average since then. Did the trade give the other Wild players a boost? Maybe, but they were winning before that.

Meanwhile, Ohgren started scoring, once the 1000 pound weight was lifted off his back. Buium has performed equally as well as Hughes so far, and we've lost a 2C that can score 60 points.

All I'm saying is that Hughes better pick it up and start making a noticeable difference.

58 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

I suspect Billy traded for the Makar version, not the Jiricek version. I really expected him to be more visible and hopefully make a difference against Colorado. He looked like a passenger and was a -1. So, in my humble opinion, I'm not impressed. He is supposedly rated 7th overall in the NHL and Kaprizov 10th. I expect to see generational greatness. He looked the best in his first game with the Wild, pretty average since then. Did the trade give the other Wild players a boost? Maybe, but they were winning before that.

Meanwhile, Ohgren started scoring, once the 1000 pound weight was lifted off his back. Buium has performed equally as well as Hughes so far, and we've lost a 2C that can score 60 points.

I don't think there is a Makar version. He's very talented, particularly skating, and I cannot argue against the recent team results being impressive, even with losing to the #1 team in the league.

I was against the trade not because he isn't a uniquely gifted player, but because the Wild gave up so many assets. I'm more just tepid on the trade now, but I'd feel a lot better about it if the Wild didn't also include their 1st round pick, or if they also received Keifer Sherwood in the deal. I think the Wild gave up more talent than they received in the deal and they included a future 1st round talent to do it.

The Wild, however, have been playing well and the new guys that just joined the roster from injury probably had the most trouble with the back-to-back games. Wild are still a credible threat in the playoffs, as they were last season.

1 hour ago, Scalptrash said:

I suspect Billy traded for the Makar version, not the Jiricek version. I really expected him to be more visible and hopefully make a difference against Colorado. He looked like a passenger and was a -1. So, in my humble opinion, I'm not impressed. He is supposedly rated 7th overall in the NHL and Kaprizov 10th. I expect to see generational greatness. He looked the best in his first game with the Wild, pretty average since then. Did the trade give the other Wild players a boost? Maybe, but they were winning before that.

Meanwhile, Ohgren started scoring, once the 1000 pound weight was lifted off his back. Buium has performed equally as well as Hughes so far, and we've lost a 2C that can score 60 points.

All I'm saying is that Hughes better pick it up and start making a noticeable difference.

What I’ve noticed is his ability to be a hot knife thru butter thru the neutral zone and also on zone entry, then he makes a tape to tape pass to teammate once the o-zone is established.  Ek’s inability to finish is not on hughzy.  Time will obviously tell but I think he’s added a new dimension to this team that makes it better overall.  Last nights belt to ass proves we’re still at least one top 6’r away

18 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

but I'd feel a lot better about it if the Wild didn't also include their 1st round pick, or if they also received Keifer Sherwood in the deal.

GM’s ALWAYS answer the phone when 135% Guerin calls

Also there was a point last night where there was a scrum and Zuccy and spurgy jumped into it and immediately got face washed.  Hughzy ain’t making us any more intimidating so watched for another 220lb potato added at the TDL