$92,800,000 Vancouver Canucks star shrugs off Quinn Hughes' blockbuster trade from Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson shared his thoughts on former teammate Quinn Hughes’ trade to the Minnesota Wild. Hughes was traded to the Wild by the Canucks on December 12.

As part of the transaction, the Canucks received forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren, defenseman Zeev Buium, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hughes had spent the previous eight seasons with the Canucks after being drafted seventh overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Ahead of Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, Pettersson called the trade the “business” side of hockey while emphasizing the need to move forward.

“Quinn is Quinn. We all know how good he is,” Pettersson said after the morning skate Saturday. “It’s tough to lose him — a friend for a long time for me — but it’s a business at the end of the day. I’m just happy with the return we got. The players are looking good. We just turn the page and move forward.

Elias Pettersson, who's currently signed to an eight-year, $92 million contract with the Canucks, made his first appearance against the Sharks after missing the past eight games since Dec. 5 due to an undisclosed injury.

Now that Quinn Hughes is gone, Pettersson is the leading scorer for the Canucks with 22 points through eight goals and 14 assists in 28 games this season.

NHL insider explains why the Detroit Red Wings did not trade for Quinn Hughes

The Detroit Red Wings were one of the teams rumored to be interested in Quinn Hughes before his trade to the Minnesota Wild.

However, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Red Wings weren’t interested in trading defenseman Simon Edvinsson, resulting in the failed trade talks with the Canucks:

"I heard that it really didn't get far; there was something Vancouver wanted...that the Red Wings would not include; I have wondered if that was Simon Edvinsson, I don't know it though," Friedman said.

Hughes has accumulated 27 points through three goals and 24 assists in 32 games this season. With the Wild, the 26-year-old defenseman has racked up four points through a goal and three assists in six games.

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Edited by Abhishek Dilta