Guerin summed up the timing of the deal in Yogi Berra-like fashion when adding, “I don’t know what the right moment is, but if you wait for it, you’re going to miss it.”

Indeed, when a player of Hughes’s caliber and roster impact becomes available, as Guerin noted, “You’re not going to screw around.”

Get Starting Point

A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.

If nothing else — and be assured, there will be plenty more — Guerin’s large dollop of carpe diem represented a refreshingly bold move, and equally refreshing assessment, by a GM in today’s NHL.

Guerin identified the player he wanted, calculated the value Hughes brought to his team, and promptly gave up assets that cut right down to the bone. He accepted the risk, along with whatever criticism it might generate.

For those with memories reaching back far enough, Guerin’s conviction was reminiscent of how Bruins GM Harry Sinden went about business in November 1975 when he dealt fan favorite Phil Esposito, the legendary goal scorer, to the Rangers. It equally pegged the needle on the Richter scale.

Lots of GMs talk about making the big deal, and hint that they were “in the running.” But few ever get the big deal done, typically because of fear of failure, potential for subsequent ridicule, and above all, the risk that a big swing and miss will land them in the unemployment line.

So good on Guerin who, by the way, was “rolling meatballs” in preparation for a family Christmas dinner when Canucks boss Jim Rutherford called to say they had a deal. Chef Guerin offered, in full disclosure, that he removed latex gloves when taking Rutherford’s call.

“And,” added Guerin, “there was a fist pump involved” upon ending the phone call. (Chef’s kiss here.)

Wild general manager Bill Guerin cooked up one tasty deal with the massive trade for Quinn Hughes. David Berding/Getty

With the wizardly Hughes wheeling and dealing from the blue line, a force both on the man advantage and five-on-five, the Wild now shoulder up with Colorado and Dallas as serious Stanley Cup Final contenders. That’s contender, and not favorite, because the Stars and Avalanche are both excellent and, well, hockey is hockey (as well as all three residing in the Central Division). As sure as there are no rules in a knife fight, there’s no predicting the last bounce of the puck on the NHL’s playoff roulette wheel. For that matter, also don’t discount Vegas coming out of the West.

The Canucks — with Rutherford acknowledging, “I believe we have been in a rebuild here for a little bit” — landed three talented, 20-somethings in defenseman Zeev Buium (just turned 20), center Marco Rossi (24), and winger Liam Ohgren (22 next month). All were first-round picks and all have the potential to be core players and remain in Vancouver for years.

Their collective talent, Guerin made clear, was painful to surrender. Rutherford got a haul for Hughes, who, while a generational talent, had made clear that he didn’t want to be in Vancouver beyond the expiration of his deal that carries a $7.85 million cap hit.

The very best players, Hughes being among them, must live within the guidelines of the collective bargaining agreement. But their talent allows them to squeeze the margins and, as in Hughes’s case, pressure clubs to deal them. Rutherford could have held out hope that Hughes would change his mind, sign an extension with Vancouver before becoming an unrestricted free agent in July ’27, and remain his club’s franchise force.

Brad Treliving, then GM in Calgary, faced a near-identical scenario with Matthew Tkachuk in the summer of 2022. Tkachuk, then 24, not only wanted out but wanted to be in South Florida, where he subsequently has won the Cup twice with the Panthers.

Treliving had zero choice but to accommodate Tkachuk, receiving Jonathan Huberdeau as the centerpiece of the return package. It turned out to be a franchise-making deal for the Panthers, and stands as a continuing disappointment for Calgary, where Huberdeau hasn’t come close to replicating the 115 points he produced in his final season in Florida.

Had Hughes not been dealt and ultimately said no to staying in Vancouver as a UFA, Rutherford rightly would have been accused of gross managerial negligence. In the end, his deal with Minnesota was both a no-brainer and of no choice.

None of the three players the Canucks received in return projects to reach Hughes’s standard or impact. Hughes and Colorado’s Cale Makar are the top two distributors/playmakers/offensive forces at the blue line, with the Rangers’ Adam Fox a close third.

Guerin made clear that in the weeks and months ahead, without a guarantee of a Hughes extension in hand, he will be betting on his bright and shiny acquisition fully embracing the hockey culture in St. Paul. He hopes the city, the franchise, and the fans will entice Hughes to stay. It’s conceivable Guerin will offer Hughes an eight-year extension at dollars near equal to the astounding eight-year, $136 million pact Wild star winger Kirill Kaprizov begins next season.

So, yes, Guerin took a real risk with the trade. Even a huge offer and the Wild winning their first Cup this coming June might not be enough for Hughes to stay. His brothers Jack (24) and Luke (22) are franchise cornerstones in New Jersey, and the trio’s desire to play one day on the same team is of Stastny Bros. proportions.

That latter point, in the end, could lead to discussions sooner rather than later between Guerin and his old pal Tom Fitzgerald, the Devils’ GM. If Guerin senses there is no pathway to a deal, he could repackage Hughes for Newark.

Farfetched? Consider: As recently as January, the Hurricanes went all-in on a deal to obtain star Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche, a complex deal that ultimately landed Martin Necas in Denver. Carolina quickly learned that Rantanen, less than six months from the July 1 free agent market, had no desire to sign an extension in Raleigh.

Only six weeks and 13 games after acquiring him, the Hurricanes wheeled Rantanen to Dallas, where he promptly signed an eight-year, $96 million extension. For the quick flip, Carolina received Logan Stankoven and four draft picks, including a pair of first-rounders, from the Stars. One of those picks one day will have to be their next Necas if the Hurricanes ever cull fair value for all their trouble.

For now, though, Guerin hopes Hughes is in the Twin Cities for the duration. If so, all their parts considered, the Wild are positioned to be a force in the West for the next 8-10 years, similar to when a 29-year-old Zdeno Chara joined the Bruins as a free agent in June 2006. Hughes is a vastly different defenseman, but younger, and able to powerlift the Wild offense the way Chara once hoisted the Bruins franchise on his shoulders.

It was the right moment, and Guerin wasn’t going to miss it.

Milan Lucic was last seen in Boston in Boston Municipal Court in November 2023 pleading not guilty to assaulting his wife. Today, he’s trying to resurrect his hockey career by playing in Scotland. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

BATTLING FATHER TIME

Lucic still skating … in Scotland

Milan Lucic, intent on pounding the ice-covered pavement back to the NHL, found a new home to keep his legs warm — in the cool climes of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, right there at the edge of the Firth of Forth.

Lucic agreed to contract terms this past week with the EIHL Fife Flyers, the United Kingdom’s oldest pro hockey franchise, founded in 1938. The big fella’s move across the choppy Atlantic came only a couple of weeks after he was released from a professional tryout agreement with AHL Springfield, where he landed following his September tryout in St. Louis (where Peter Chiarelli, his ex-Boston boss, is vice president of hockey operations). If not for a training camp injury, he had a shot at sticking with the Blues varsity.

Lucic is now 37, almost 20 years beyond his Bruins debut (October 2007). And if anyone questioned his passion for the game, well, look no further than the Firth of Forth. That’s a guy who still wants it, be it realistically within his reach or not.

It would be easy to frame this as a has-been hanging on to faded glory. It may indeed prove to be nothing more. But Lucic is able to keep the faith in large part because of the abundant success he had in Boston (remember, his name is on the Stanley Cup from 2011) and the riches he rolled up when Chiarelli, then the Oilers general manager, signed him to a massive UFA deal in the summer of 2016 (seven years, $42 million).

Granted, Lucic’s best days already were behind him upon his arrival in Alberta, in part because beatdowns and brute strength became increasingly devalued in the NHL late in the last decade. His legs already were slowing down, too. But for those years on Causeway Street (2007-15), he was genuinely a formidable beast — able to intimidate opponents and produce offense (three times scoring 20 or more goals in a season).

His favorite-son image was tarnished significantly in the fall of 2023, after he earned a spot on the Black and Gold roster (on a one-year/$1 million deal) and then in November was arrested for a domestic dust-up with his wife. The case was ultimately dropped (wife Brittany opting not to testify against him), and Lucic spent time regaining his sobriety with the help of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. The Bruins wished him well and cut him loose.

Based on a number of Brittany’s social media posts over the last 12-18 months, it appears the couple and their children are in a much healthier, happier place.

It has proven to be a career path made all the more difficult to navigate by Lucic himself.

Now, some 4,400 miles east of his hometown Vancouver, and a number of leagues below the NHL, he trudges on, picking up whatever pieces are to be had in Scotland, and seeing if they somehow lead him back on the NHL map. The Fife Flyers assigned him sweater No. 8.

New Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen addressed the press during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. John Wawrow/Associated Press

SABRES SHUFFLE

Another leadership change in Buffalo

Amid another season that started out kind of slow and again seemed on the verge of fizzling out altogether, the Sabres sent general manager Kevyn Adams packing and handed their worn-out tools to new boss Jarmo Kekalainen.

Both Adams and Kekalainen, by the way, were once Bruins prospects in their playing days. (Reminder: there is almost always a connection to Causeway Street)

Kekalainen, who played two years at wing for Clarkson prior to joining the 1989-90 Bruins, in more recent times was the Blue Jackets GM across 11 seasons. Bill Zito, who had a long tenure in Columbus as Kekalainen’s assistant GM, interviewed for the Buffalo job prior to Jason Botterill getting the gig in 2017. Another swing and miss by the franchise.

One can only wonder how far Zito, now a two-time Stanley Cup winner in Florida, would have moved the Sabres along the path to recovery these last eight years. They have not made the playoffs since the spring of 2011, which was just weeks after Terry and Kim Pegula took ownership of the franchise.

Now, 14 years and five GMs later, it’s another front office purge, with the remaining passionate western New York hockey fans understandably grown tired of the perpetual wash-rinse-spin-dry cycle. If it were possible to harness the power of rolled eyes, there would be no need for the massive turbines that create the juice flowing at Niagara Hydroelectric Power Plant.

Kekalainen, just back in Buffalo after attending his father’s funeral in Finland, said at his intro presser that the postseason remains in play.

“I firmly believe that we can make the playoffs,” he said, “because there’s a lot of hockey left.”

The Sabres had won three in a row when Adams was turfed, bringing their record to 14-14-4, dead last (home again, home again … ) in the 16-team Eastern Conference. Figuring it will take about 95 points to get above the DNQ line, the Sabres will have to play around .625 hockey or better the rest of the way. (They got off on the right foot Thursday night, with a 5-3 comeback win over the Flyers.) It will have to be a long, impressive finishing kick for a franchise that has averaged 82 points over the last four seasons.

Kekalainen’s stated first order of business: what to do about former Boston College forward Alex Tuch, who was the top asset the Sabres received from Vegas in the Jack Eichel trade. Born in Syracuse, the 6-foot-4-inch winger has fully embraced his stay in Buffalo, despite the franchise’s protracted losing. Now 29, he can walk as an unrestricted free agent July 1.

“We want to get him signed,” said Kekalaien.

If not, the Bruins would be high on the list of Tuch suitors.

Former Boston College star netminder Jacob Fowler has gone 1-1-1 in his first three NHL starts for Montreal. Heather Khalifa/Associated Press

The Canadiens, who will be at the Garden Tuesday, have been in the .500 tidal churn for much of the month, through they recently got a tiny spark in net with rookie Jacob Fowler, the Florida-born stopper who was Boston College’s workhorse across two seasons (2023-25) before turning pro in the spring. Fowler appeared in 15 games with AHL Laval this season before his call to the varsity, and he won his debut game, turning back 36 of 38 shots by the Penguins on Dec. 11. He then went 0-1-1 in his next two starts. The Canadiens score sufficiently, but leak too much in the back end. They still have hopes that David Reinbacher, the No. 5 pick in the 2023 draft, can evolve into a franchise defender, but it has become a long incubation for the 6-3, right-shot defenseman … The Canucks’ Jim Rutherford was just days on the job as Hartford’s new general manager in the summer of 1994 when he ended Glen Wesley’s contract struggles with the Bruins by sending Harry Sinden three first-round draft picks for the 25-year-old blue liner. The Whalers-Hurricanes had their franchise defenseman for 14 seasons (and one Stanley Cup), and the Bruins used the picks to acquire Kyle McLaren, Jonathan Aitken, and Sergei Samsonov (aka the Magical Moscovite) across the next three drafts. All were long gone from Causeway Street when Wesley retired in the spring of 2008 … Another example of there’s-always-a-Boston connection: Newest Bruin Vladislav Kolyachonok was born in Minsk and played two seasons at OHL Flint, the second of which came after he was drafted 52nd overall by the Panthers in June 2019. He then returned to Belarus to play 46 games with Minsk Dynamo in 2020-21, amid all the COVID-19 craziness. Minsk’s top center that season was none other than Ryan Spooner, the onetime Bruins draft pick who was bundled into the 2018 deadline deal to acquire Rick Nash from the Rangers … Nash, by the way, for years was the Blue Jackets’ centerpiece, beloved by the Columbus fan base. Kekalainen was the GM who dished Nash to the Rangers in 2012 for a big chunk of assets that included Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a first-round pick. “One of my life philosophies,” Kekalainen mused at his presser when introduced as Sabres GM, “[is] don’t be afraid to make a mistake.” Likewise, he said, he wants the Sabres “to play free, without fear of failure.” After 14 years of nothing but failure, what’s to fear but fear itself?

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.