By Tony Abbott -
The Minnesota Wild have played 11 games with Quinn Hughes in the lineup, and they have to be loving what they see. The team has used the boost to go 7-1-3 in that span, which has allowed them to draw even with the Dallas Stars in the Central Division standings. They may be 11 points behind the superhuman-looking Colorado Avalanche, but they're also a commanding 15 points above the playoff bubble.
Minnesota's record says "Contenders," and with Hughes in tow, they're looking the part. Their goal differential is currently plus-23, up from plus-17 since Hughes' arrival. The Wild are tied with the Avs as the top team in the NHL over that time. The team's resume also looks decent, having nuked the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Edmonton Oilers, taken a rare road win against the Winnipeg Jets, and steamrolled the Vegas Golden Knights in Vegas.
But what have we actually learned, given it's such a small sample size? Quite a lot, actually.
We'll start here:
Yeah, Hughes Is THAT GUY.
When the Wild traded for Hughes, there was some sticker shock from the fanbase. It was easy to fall in love with a future team that would ice Zeev Buium as a superstar, and Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren as valuable supporting pieces. Was Hughes really enough of a difference maker to punt on Buium's potential and weaken the Wild's center depth?
Sure seems that way.
It feels silly to say "The defenseman with 12 points in 11 games is great," but Wild fans really don't have a frame of reference for just how good he really is. We've said it before in this space, but think of all the great Wild defensemen we've seen. A future Hall of Famer like Brent Burns, a borderline guy like Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, the list goes on.
The Wild's record for single-season points by a defenseman is 51, a number Ryan Suter reached twice. Quinn Hughes is on track to set the franchise record with 55 points... and he can only play 50 games in a Wild sweater.
Everything about this guy is different. He moves differently than any Wild defenseman -- maybe Wild player -- we've ever seen. Hughes thinks the game at a high level and is always prodding for holes in the defensive structure. Because of this...
The Wild Have Picked Up the Pace
Minnesota's story, at least on the offensive side of the puck, looked familiar until December 13. They weren't great at generating scoring chances, and goals were hard to come by. Minnesota ranked just 15th in the NHL with 2.66 expected goals per hour at 5-on-5, ranking in the bottom half of the league in shots and shot attempts. Throw in some underperforming shooting, and the Wild sat at 28th in 5-on-5 offense, with just 2.07 goals per hour.
Enter Hughes, and suddenly, the entire team is faster.
Minnesota Wild at 5-on-5, Since Hughes Trade:
Goals per hour: 3.35 (sixth in NHL)
Shots per hour: 28.3 (sixth)
Shot attempts per hour: 62.5 (fourth)
Expected Goals Per Hour: 3.09 (seventh)
Teams can go on hot streaks, of course, especially when they get that New Trade Smell. But this is more than a blip of scoring out of nowhere. The Wild are backing it up by ratcheting up the pressure on opposing goalies. They're a top-six team in virtually all offensive categories since the Hughes trade.
Even more remarkably, this is despite leading in over 47% of their 5-on-5 and trailing only around 21% of the time. Teams that are tied or behind are going to press to score, but even with the incentive to hang back, the Wild are still flooring the gas pedal and easily dominating play.
The Stars and Avalanche Should Be Scared
Look, we're talking about Minnesota sports. We get it. It's very Minnesota Sports to have a dominant, top-three team in the NHL, only to have to face the second-best team in the first round, then the absolute best team in the second round. You can get fatalistic, if that's what you really want.
Or perhaps you can take comfort in knowing that Colorado or Dallas would much, much prefer facing some chump Pacific Division team early in the playoffs than having to face the Wild in those first two rounds.
Nobody wants to face Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, and Matt Boldy. No team wants their superstars going against a Hughes/Brock Faber pairing that has been dominating for Minnesota. And a team that looks as great as the Wild has with Hughes isn't just a tough out. They're a team that can stack up to what Colorado and Dallas can bring to the table.
Just look at their 5-on-5 stats since December 13.
Goals For %, 5-on-5:
Avalanche: 68.4% (first in NHL)
Wild: 62.5% (third)
Stars: 56.9% (sixth)
Expected Goals For%, 5-on-5:
Avalanche: 56.4% (second)
Wild: 55.9% (third)
Stars: 51.0% (13th)
There aren't any guarantees in the playoffs -- you can ask the Avalanche, who lost in seven games to the Stars in a first-round series. But the Wild have the makings of a team that can go on a deep, deep playoff run. You might be dreading that tough road to the Western Conference Final, but for the Wild, this could easily be a "You're locked in here with ME"-type of situation.
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