Quinn Hughes to face Canucks for first time following blockbuster trade to Minnesota Wild

Following a blockbuster Dec. trade, Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild will be facing off against his former team of the Vancouver Canucks for the very first time.

Hughes was the captain of the Canucks, but was traded to Minnesota on the night of Dec. 12 in exchange for center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, forward Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first round pick. Following the trade, the former Norris Trophy winner has already tallied 49 points for Minnesota across four goals and 45 assists. Hughes would also go on to represent the U.S. and help them to Olympic gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics — being awarded tournament Best Defenseman.

The Wild host the Canucks with a 8:00 p.m. EST puck drop at the Grand Casino Arena.

Hughes said he has not yet fully processed that he will be going against the team he spent nearly eight years and 459 games with. 

"I just feel like you're so day-to-day and the season has flown by, and so much has happened that you don't even really think about it until it's here so it probably won't feel real until not even warmups, but probable the game," Hughes said to the media following morning skate ahead of play against Vancouver. "I think it's just been such a long year, you don't even process ... you don't even process everything that's going on and you're just playing. At the end of the summer you can kind of look back and reflect on what the year was like."

Former Vancouver Canucks captain to take on former team for first time in history

A win against the Pacific Division team would allow Minnesota to clinch the third playoff spot in the Central Division.

Hughes was originally drafted by Vancouver with the No. 7 overall selection in 2018. He would go on to become the Canuck's all-time leading scorer among defensemen, surpassing Alexander Edler's record of 409 points back in Oct.

Quinn Hughes not sure how to feel ahead of first game vs #Canucks. Sticks up for City of Vancouver at the end pic.twitter.com/4OgoQjez3g

Vancouver Canucks' President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford previously thanked Hughes for his efforts with the Canucks, but said that Vancouver will build on without him.

"We would like to thank Quinn for his time with the Vancouver Canucks," said Rutherford per their press release on the trade. "Quinn is a great person, a great player, and one of the greatest Canucks of all time. With the circumstances surrounding JT [Miller] and now Quinn, we are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota. They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later."

Vancouver is currently sitting at the very bottom of the Pacific Division with 52 points across a 22-44-8 overall record. The Wild have 94 points in the Central Division entering play against the Canucks.

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