The dust has slowly begun to settle on the mind-shocking Quinn Hughes trade late Friday night. The deal has reverberated around the league, with several teams feeling its shockwave.
One such team is the Colorado Avalanche. While the Avalanche weren’t suitors for Hughes, the Wild are a direct competitor of the Colorado’s. As such, this deal impacts the Avalanche just like it does for every team in the Central Division.
Entering Friday’s action, the Wild are in third place in the Central. While Minnesota is 12 points behind the Avalanche, there’s a very good chance now that the Wild and Avalanche will meet in the playoffs.
That situation could set up Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes on a collision course.
If the playoffs started today, the Wild would meet the Dallas Stars in the first round. The Wild would hardly be pushovers at this point. So, let’s assume the Wild get past the Stars in the opening round.
Meanwhile, the Avalanche would face the surprising San Jose Sharks in the first round. The Sharks are the second wild card team at the moment. So, they draw the top-seeded Avalanche.
Judging from what we’ve seen thus far, the Avalanche would get past the upstart Sharks in the first round. That would set up a second-round matchup between the Avalanche and Wild. It would mark a head-to-head showdown between Makar and Hughes.
Before Friday’s trade, such a matchup would have only been possible if the Avalanche and Canucks met in the Western Conference Final or if the Canucks climbed into the second wild card spot and met Colorado in the first round.
Well, now it seems that Makar and Hughes are destined to meet in the playoffs. While the Avalanche and Wild’s first-round opponents will certainly have a say, it seems that NHL fans will be treated to one of the most exciting playoff showdowns in recent history.