By Thomas Williams -
The Minnesota Wild have made the biggest trade in the NHL's modern era. They have acquired world-class defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks.
Reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman first and then multiple other sources confirmed with more details, the Wild have moved several key pieces for the future to go all-in for at least the next couple of seasons with one of the best defensemen the world has seen in this century.
To bring Hughes to St. Paul, the Wild reportedly sent top rookie defenseman Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi, young winger Liam Ohgren, and the 2026 first-round pick to the Canucks.
Essentially, the Wild took a large chunk out of their future to commit themselves to this current team. Rossi is the oldest of the bunch at a ripe 24 years old and would've been top-of-the-lineup building blocks for the Wild, but have now been shipped to Vancouver to get one of the best talents the NHL has ever seen available via trade.
But that's just focusing on what the Wild gave up.
Quinn Hughes is, obviously, one of the best players in the world. Without him, the Canucks would be finishing at the bottom of the league for multiple years in a row and he instantly transforms any single team he is on into one that matters.
The only downside of the Wild getting Hughes is his contract situation.
The 26-year-old world-class blueliner is set to hit free agency in the summer of 2027 and unless general manager Bill Guerin and the Wild can convince Hughes that he actually doesn't want to go and play with his brothers in New Jersey and re-sign in Minnesota, the Wild will be getting a whole two playoff runs.
It is a trade that is going to affect both organizations for decades to come and now the Wild have put a very small and ticking timer on their team to see if they can really make some more noise than they ever have in franchise history. It certainly is a whole lot easier with Quinn Hughes on your team compared to not.
In 459 career NHL games, Hughes has scored 61 goals and 432 points while averaging 24:32 TOI.
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