Quinn Hughes' ex-Canucks head coach makes feelings known about star D-man's trade out of Vancouver

The Vancouver Canucks traded their captain, Quinn Hughes, to the Minnesota Wild in a blockbuster deal last week. In return, the Canucks received Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first-round pick.

The trade came amid reports that Hughes had informed the Canucks he would not sign a long-term extension, prompting the team to maximize his value rather than risk losing him with less compensation later.

The Canucks' lopsided start to the season, sitting at the bottom of the league, and ongoing rebuild efforts also factored in. Rick Tocchet, Quinn Hughes' former head coach with the Canucks, shared his thoughts on the trade during an appearance on the "Donnie and Dhali" podcast shortly after the deal.

Tocchet expressed that it was "unfortunate" but reckoned both sides would benefit in the end:

"I think a lot of teams wanted the guy. I mean, the guy 's incredible, incredible human being, an incredible kid to coach. He changes analytics for your team, right? If you're an average rush team or an average possession team, you acquire him, all of a sudden you become one of the top teams," Tocchet said.

He added:

"So, that's what he can do, the impact. So, that's why there's a lot of noise around him because he's such a great player. And the guy wants to win. He loves the U.S., playing for the U.S. Olympic team. That's a big goal for him, too. So, there's a lot of moving parts. And it's just unfortunate. But, I think both parties are going to win on this. I really do."

Quinn Hughes opens up about not wanting a future with Vancouver Canucks

Following his Wild debut in a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday, Quinn Hughes provided in-depth reasoning behind not wanting a future with the Canucks:

"I came into the year open-minded, and wanted to make it work, and obviously wanted to have a great year," he said."But I just think with the injuries and the direction it was going, it wasn't happening. And I think Jim knew where my head was at a little bit, and we got to talking, or Jim and Pat got to talking, and a couple of weeks going, it kind of went from there."

Hughes scored a goal in his debut for the Wild. This season, he has accumulated 24 points, including 3 goals and 21 assists, in 27 games. The Wild host the Washington Capitals at Xcel Energy Center next on Tuesday.

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Edited by Abhishek Dilta