The Minnesota Wild came out of nowhere to acquire former captain Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, while many teams were in the mix, the only other team that came close to getting him were the Carolina Hurricanes.
“As mentioned, the Detroit Red Wings were one of the interested teams but were reportedly unwilling to part with a specific asset in talks with the Vancouver Canucks, which was not named but is believed to be Swedish defensemen Simon Edvinsson.”-Jaxon
Quinn Hughes was almost packing his bags for the Carolina Hurricanes
Trevor Beggs for the Daily Hive reports on the negotiations between the Hurricanes and Canucks for Hughes. The Hurricanes also weren’t a big name circulating in the rumour mill, just like the Wild, it goes to show how fast things can change in pro sports.
“Among all Eastern Conference suitors, Carolina may have been closest to acquiring Hughes. Canucks president Jim Rutherford was down in Carolina for the 20th anniversary celebration of their 2006 Stanley Cup win, before the Hughes trade. Friedman alluded to the fact that face-to-face conversations could have occurred at that time.”-Beggs
Alexander Nikishin was reportedly the major centerpiece in the trade, similar to Zeev Buium, they both made their debuts in the playoffs last season. However, Nikishin is four years older than Buium and provides a different skill set, he is 6’3 210 pounds, while Buium is 6’0 at 185 pounds. Buium is a more offensive, power play quarterback styled defensemen, similar to Quinn Hughes. While Nikishin is a shutdown defensemen, potentially at an elite level.
Everything seems to be working out for the Canucks since acquiring Buium, Marco Rossi and Liam Omgren. They have yet to lose since the trade, but it’s too small a sample size to determine who won the trade.