Team USA’s Quinn Hughes once again proving the Vancouver Canucks made a mistake trading him
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke – Imagn Images.
Former Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes earned a major honor at the 2026 Winter Olympics, leaving many to wonder if Patrik Allvin made a mistake by trading him.
“We would like to thank Quinn for his time with the Vancouver Canucks. Quinn is a great person, a great player, and one of the greatest Canucks of all time. With the circumstances surrounding JT 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.” Jim Rutherford said after the trade.
Since being dealt to the Wild, Hughes has been on a tear, registering 34 points (three goals, 31 assists) in 26 games and on Sunday in Milan, added an Olympic gold medal to his trophy case after an impressive performance with the United States.
Ex-Vancouver Canuck Quinn Hughes earns major honor at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Shortly after his brother Jack scored the overtime winner to defeat Canada, Quinn Hughes was named as the best defenseman of the 2026 Winter Olympics and was also on the tournament all-star team, as selected by members of the media.
“Olympics player awards:
Best goalie: Connor Hellebuyck
Best defender: Quinn Hughes
Best forward/MVP: Connor McDavid
All-Star team:
Macklin Celebrini
Connor McDavid
Juraj Slafkovsky
Quinn Hughes
Cale Makar
Connor Hellebuyck” @PuckReportNHL shared.
Quinn Hughes’ play throughout the Winter Olympics and during his two months with the Minnesota Wild is leaving a lot of Vancouver Canucks fans wondering “what if”, what if the team was competitive, what if he was willing to sign an extension and stick around.
While the Canucks certainly didn’t want him to walk to free agency in 2027 and not receive anything, and the return they got from the Wild was pretty good, Patrik Allvin probably could’ve held on a bit and waited until the summer or even next season’s trade deadline to move the former Norris Trophy winner.
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Team USA’s Quinn Hughes once again proving the Vancouver Canucks made a mistake trading him
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