The cold, gray rain pelting TRIA Rink’s big windows Thursday morning provided a familiar welcome for the Vancouver Canucks, as they made their final visit to Minnesota this season.
Such weather is often the default along Canada’s scenic and soggy Pacific Coast.
But asked about his familiarity with these skies after spending the first six-plus seasons of his NHL career in Vancouver, Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes offered a defense.
“There’s some good weather there too, so that’s all I’ll say about that,” Hughes quipped ahead of his first career meeting opposite the Canucks.
“It’ll probably be a fun night for him, and an interesting night,” Wild coach John Hynes said of Hughes, comparing it to his experiences facing New Jersey and Nashville – the two teams he coached before coming to Minnesota.
Thursday night’s game in St. Paul featured familiar faces on both benches following the December blockbuster trade that brought Hughes to Minnesota.
Former Wild forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and promising young defenseman Zeev Buium were on the outgoing end of that deal, and were set to make their St. Paul returns.
Pregame prep also included Hynes searching for ways to slow down the trio that went to Vancouver in the trade. The Canucks are solidly in the NHL standings cellar, but there has been talk of a lengthy and lucrative contract extension for Buium, who is seen by many as a future star.
“I’m happy for those guys,” Hynes said. “I think they’re in a situation where they’re getting some ice time, and they’re playing pretty well and are a big part of the team now and a big part of the team moving forward.”
Hughes, who always seems laser-focused on whatever task or opponent is in front of him, said despite this week’s rare four days off, the condensed nature of the 2025-26 NHL schedule has not left much time to dwell on memories of his time in Vancouver, or the strangeness of playing against the Canucks for the first time.
“You’re so day-to-day and the season’s flown by and so much has happened that you don’t even really think about it until it’s here,” he said. “It probably won’t feel real until, not even warmups, probably the game.”
Hughes offered a quick timeline of his last five months, starting with the trade in December, getting used to his new team in January, spending much of February in Italy winning a gold medal with Team USA, the whirlwind of post-Olympics parties and celebrations and his two trips to New York City for appearances on national television, then coming down from that high in March. April began with a chance for the Wild to officially clinch their place in the postseason with a win over Vancouver.
“Now you’re ramping up for the playoffs, so the desperation has to be high,” he said. “You have to be ready to go, and I’m excited for that.”
Briefly
Hughes caught up with an old friend earlier in the week when now-retired former University of Michigan coach Mel Pearson stopped by Wild practice in St. Paul and had lunch with the star defenseman he recruited and coached with the Wolverines for two seasons. Pearson, 67, was a prep star at Edina in 1977 and an assistant coach at Michigan for their two most recent NCAA titles (1996, 1998). In five years as the Wolverines’ head coach, Pearson led them to the Frozen Four twice, including Hughes’ freshman season in 2018, when they fell to Notre Dame in the semifinals of the national tournament in St. Paul. Amid a school investigation into allegations of a toxic atmosphere within the Michigan hockey program, Pearson was dismissed in the summer of 2022 after winning a Big Ten tournament title and getting to the Frozen Four earlier that year.
Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, right, skates with the puck behind Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson (32) as Frederick Gaudreau defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) steps onto the ice before an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)