Elliotte Friedman breaks down the Quinn Hughes trade

Elliot, I want to apologize for ruining your Friday nights, but Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. Uh, how did this whole thing come together? Well, first of all, Jameson, you didn’t ruin my Friday night. It was Bill Garrett and Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alvine who ruined my Friday night. Um, no, you know what? Um, look, like last week it became pretty clear that the Canucks um were going to be willing to talk about Hughes. um when they sent out the memo about two weeks ago saying we’re going to discuss our veterans, it wasn’t about Quinn Hughes. He wasn’t the guy that they were discussing. But I always remember Brian Burke um in when Joe Thornton was traded in 2005, Boston made that deal with San Jose and he always told people that he found out really late and he made a call and it was too late to get involved. And it’s kind of like you snooze, you lose. like it’s your job in that situation. Maybe they’re not talking about this guy, but we have to call about this guy. And teams started calling and New Jersey was one and Minnesota was obviously another. And you know, I haven’t spoken to Bill Garin yet today, uh Jameson, but I remember he told me one thing. I was asking him about his philosophy and he said, “When I see something I want, I go out and I get it.” Uh and I think that’s what happened here. I you know I they heard they heard about Hughes. They heard they knew about the memo. Um you know we reported last Saturday night that the Devils and the Conucks had talked about it. And I think the Wild just basically said we’re going to get in on this too. Like we if if we lose out on Quinn Hughes, it’s not going to be because we sat out or didn’t make a call. And I heard they were really aggressive and you’ve got the board up there. I think the guy that was the real battle here was Buen. And uh you know like Ogrren and Rossy are good young players and you never want to part with good young players but you have to give quality to get quality but I think the guy they really battle about was Buim and ultimately the Canucks insisted on him in the deal I heard and they got it done. And uh you know I I really liked Alvine’s quote in the sense that it’s never a good day when you have to trade a player like Quinn Hughes is the best player in the deal. But I would be very curious to hear that somebody really felt they could have given a better offer than this one. I had heard that Vancouver had spoken to some other teams, Jameson, and they’ve been told that certain players were not available. So I I would be surprised if someone stepped up more than the Wild did. Elliot, how about the Central Division now? You’ve got the Colorado Avalanche just running away with things. The Dallas Stars, the next best team in the NHL, and now this big move along with Capriov and now Quinn Hughes. How much better are the Wild and are they realistic cup contenders in your mind? Because you talk about that two- three matchup coming up in round one in the Central. It is going to be that’s going to be epic. You know, Jameson, tonight I had one guy say that the uh I I had one guy say that the that the Sorry, someone’s calling me. I’m telling them to stop calling me. I I had one guy say to me that the Central is Death Valley now. I had another guy say to me, “If you really look at it, the three best defenseman in the NHL are now in

Quinn Hughes has been traded to the Minnesota Wild in a blockbuster deal. Elliotte Friedman stopped by NHL On The Fly to discuss how the trade came together.

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32 comments

  3. The Devils wouldn't make Nemec available, Philly wouldn't make Martone available, Dallas doesn't have anyone they wanted, Detroit wouldn't make Sandin-Pellikka available, and Colorado wouldn't make Necas available. That would be my guess.

  18. Rutherford is clearly just a feather in the cap for Bettman for buying into US expansion in the 90's because he got one cup riding a rookie goalie in the first year after a lockout then couldn't make the playoffs for over a decade. Then he's gifted the Pens core in their prime. Guy is a fraud and anyone thinking he belongs in the HOF is a joke.

  20. Canucks suck. And like the sabres they will never win a cup..alvin is a dolt, The owners are a joke don't spend money on marquis players..lindh9lm/zadorov/ their best players in playoffs and wont sign them is proof of there incompetence. Wouldnt give Z an extra 400k to stay? Owners dont have winning mentality and never spend. Why mess up a good thing unless your incompetent. Dont say the cap, they can make room. The best forward theyve had in 30 years is marcus naslund..messier didnt count..its a loser franchise

  21. I’ve watched every Canucks game, every 82 games and playoffs every season since I was 4, and I’m 30. This is the only season I haven’t bothered watching, because I don’t even know who anyone is or care aside from, Kane, Pettersson, Demko, Boeser and Hughes. That’s why I haven’t watched, because they’re a nothing team, and now, I’m definitely not going to even try to back into watching or caring because I felt bad I wasn’t. They just destroyed this team, officially, it’s over, unless we get new management and somehow bring him back, but to trade not only the captain, but the best defenceman in the league, and probably the best skater we’ve ever seen or had, is not only disgusting, it’s something that makes me not even care if the team was sold at this point. I say, sell the organization, get new owners and try to buy a new franchise and start from scratch, because this is just pointless now.

  23. Minnesota still won't win a round and Hughes will disappear in the playoffs like he always does. Then he goes to jersey and Minnesota goes into a rebuild when kaprizov requests a trade

  24. I've not been the biggest Guerin fan, but I give him a lot of credit for taking a shot here on Hughes. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but you've not won a playoff series in over 10 yrs so why not shake things up and try something bold. Hughes is one of the best skating defenseman I've ever seen next to Orr. Elite skater and playmaker.

  26. This will be a bus stop… even with a potential cup. The Hughes’ are a pond hockey family… they will want to be on the same team-
    Team Hughes vs all the neighborhood kids.

  32. Haven't watched much hockey since last year, but Quinn was with the Canucks for almost 10 years we never made a deep playoff run. It's time to move on and bring new people in. Rossi seems promising and we got another defencemen back anyways.

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