British ColumbiaThe Vancouver Canucks have traded star defenceman and captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild, according to a team statement.Canucks will receive Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium, and 1st-round pickJon Azpiri · CBC News · Posted: Dec 12, 2025 8:55 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Quinn Hughes is seen in action on Thursday — the final day the Vancouver Canucks’ star defenceman and captain suited up for the franchise. On Friday, he was shipped to the Minnesota Wild. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press)The Vancouver Canucks announced Friday that they have traded captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.In exchange for the star defenceman, the Canucks will receive forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenceman Zeev Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL entry draft.When asked at a Friday night news conference about the leadup to the trade, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said “you probably go back even a year ago when this started to come to our attention that this might be the path that Quinn wants to go.” “We were trying to do everything to convince him to stay and work through it.””When we were not able to do it, that’s where we started the process of looking to see what potential destination that would be out there and what potential teams that can come up with the best return for the Vancouver Canucks moving forward.”General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have acquired forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren, defenceman Zeev Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenceman Quinn Hughes.DETAILS |… pic.twitter.com/mSQG5QAjjl—CanucksThe trade comes a day after the Canucks’ 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Rogers Arena. Vancouver is at the bottom of NHL standings with 25 points, and a record of 2-7-1 in their last 10 games.Hughes was among the faint bright spots for the struggling franchise, with 23 points this season, including two goals. Picked seventh overall by the Canucks in the 2018 draft, the 26-year-old from Orlando, Fla., won the Norris Trophy in 2024 as the NHL’s top defenceman.Over 459 regular-season games, he amassed 432 points, and set a new record for points by a Canucks defenceman in October when he passed Alex Edler (409).Vancouver Canucks team president Jim Rutherford said the players acquired in the Hughes trade would help the team rebuild. (Ben Nelms/CBC)In the Canucks’ statement, team president Jim Rutherford thanked Hughes and called him “one of the greatest Canucks of all time.”Rutherford said the team was fortunate to “acquire these very good young players” in the trade.”They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward,” Rutherford said. Allvin said the team’s current situation is a far cry from where Vancouver sat in the spring of 2024 when they advanced to the second round of the post-season and took the Edmonton Oilers to seven games.“I thought we had a great team, we had a great run. We were very excited about where we were. And unfortunately, things happened,” he said. Vancouver struggled to a 38-30-14 record in the 2024-25 season, and traded veteran centre J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers after reports of a rift between Miller and fellow centre Elias Pettersson. “You’ve got to be able to adapt, adjust, retool,” Allvin said Friday. “And I think that’s what we started with last year in the [Miller] trade. And unfortunately, today here was another step in that direction — try to get the new wave, new younger players in here and start to continue to build a championship team.”That new wave includes Rossi, who the Wild selected ninth overall in the 2020 NHL draft, has 13 points in 17 games for the Wild this season. Ohgren and Buium were also first-round picks for the Wild.During the news conference, Allvin was asked if the Canucks had a “culture problem.””I don’t think that’s the reason why Quinn Hughes is traded here today … We’re very excited with the leadership group and what [head coach] Adam [Foote] is building here.”With files from The Canadian Press
Canucks trade captain Quinn Hughes to Minnesota Wild
