Vancouver Canucks trade Quinn Hughes to Minnesota Wild

The Vancouver Canucks have dealt defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and the Wild’s 2026 first-round pick, as first reported by Darren Dreger.

Darren Dreger

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Confirming. Vancouver Canucks Trade Quinn Hughes to Minnesota Wild for Minnesota Wild’s 1st round pick in the 2026 NHL draft, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren and Zeev Buium.

12:38 AM · Dec 13, 2025

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The trade comes as a surprise only in terms of timing and where Hughes ended up. There had been plenty of chatter about a Hughes trade in the past weeks and months, especially after Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks were open for business a few weeks ago and head coach Adam Foote mentioned that the rumours had reached the dressing room.

However, many expected the Canucks to wait a bit longer on a deal, and the Wild were never really mentioned in the conversation, with a lot of the focus put towards his college roots in the Detroit Red Wings or the New Jersey Devils with his brothers, Jack and Luke.

The trade chatter surrounding Hughes began earlier on in 2025 when Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford talked about Hughes’ uncertain future with only two years remaining on his contract and how he wouldn’t mind playing with his brothers in New Jersey. That conversation has slowly snowballed over the course of several months to where it is now, with it feeling like the Canucks had to move him before the conversation got too toxic.

With two years remaining on his contract with a $7.85 million cap hit, Hughes will not be eligible for an extension until July 1st, 2026. At this point in time, it’s unclear if he has plans to extend with the Wild.

Hughes has been performing at his usual rate this season with two goals and 21 assists for 23 points in 26 games. He joins a Wild team that has been red hot for almost a month, and is quite set on the right side of their blueline with Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon.

The big piece coming in return is another defenseman in Buium, a 2024 first-round pick poised to become a high-end offensive defenseman. Buium has had a solid rookie campaign thus far with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 31 games.

Vancouver also gets the top-six center they’ve been looking for since they dealt J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in the trade by acquiring Rossi. The 2020 ninth-overall pick was a potential trade target for the Canucks in the summer amidst a contract stalemate with the Wild, but he ultimately signed a three-year contract with a $5 million cap hit. Rossi has four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 17 games this season.

The Canucks also get Ohgren, who was the Wild’s 2022 first-round pick, but has struggled to establish himself at the NHL level thus far. He is pointless in 18 NHL games, but has three goals and two assists for five points in nine games.