It is officially the end of an era in Vancouver. The Canucks have traded Captain and Franchise defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. Coming back in the trade is center Marco Rossi, left winger Liam Ohgren, defenceman Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first round pick.
It had become clear in recent weeks that Quinn Hughes’ time in Vancouver was coming to an end, but when the news broke on Friday night that a trade had come through, it shocked the hockey world.
The whispers around the hockey-sphere was that Vancouver had been receiving calls, but that nothing was imminent. Furthermore, the teams wildly (no pun intended) considered to be the front runners, fall behind as the Minnesota Wild come in from out of nowhere to land the superstar defenceman.
It goes without saying what the Wild are receiving on their side of the trade. Quinn Hughes is a superstar defenceman in this league, and on any given night can be the best defenceman in the world. For the Wild, parting with almost any peice or prospect is stomachable when your return is a franchise altering talent such as Hughes.
As for the Canucks, their return is more than satisfactory given their situation. President Jim Rutherford and GM Patrick Allvin were able to acquire exactly the sort of package they were looking for in a return for Quinn Hughes. The Canucks fill their desire to get younger, while also getting a much needed centerman to play underneath Elias Pettersson. Add onto that another good young prospect and a very highly touted young defenceman, it’s easy to see how the Wild were able to quickly out bid their competitors.
So what exactly are the Canucks receiving in this trade.
Marco Rossi
To first fill their need of a center to bolster their lack of depth down the middle, the Canucks are acquiring 24 year old center Marco Rossi. Rossi is the most veteran peice coming back for Hughes, having played just over 200 games thus far in his young career.
A former 9th overall pick in 2020, Marco Rossi has the talent to be a high end top 6 center in this league. Despite some concern about his size coming into the NHL, Rossi has been able to overcome his 5’9” stature with his skating ability, and exceptional hockey IQ.
Coming off of a 60 point campaign last season with the Wild, there were some concerns during the early offseason about whether a deal could be reached on the Wild re-signing Rossi. A dramatic dip in icetime for the young forward during the Wild’s playoff series last season drove a wedge between player and team, and extended contract talks led to speculation on Rossi’s future with the Wild. Rossi did finally sign an extension with the Wild in late August – 3 years, 5 million aav – but the lengthy negotiations had certainly left a door open for Rossi’s future departure.
Liam Ohgren
Another young peice coming Vancouver’s way, Liam Ohgren is a 21 year old winger who, despite some early struggles at the NHL level, has played exceptionally well in the AHL. Another former 1st round pick, being selected 19th overall by the Wild in 2022, Ohgren projects to be a solid middle six player at the NHL level.
Early growing pains are there, as the young Swedish forward has yet to record a point in the 18 games he’s played this year. In 53 career AHL games, Ohgren has 22 goals and 42 points. Now Ohgren will have a new opportunity to log some considerable ice time with the Canucks, or join Vancouver’s reigning AHL Championship affiliate in Abbotsford to develop amongst that successful and competitive team.
Zeev Buium
The biggest peice coming back in the trade for Hughes is certainly Zeev Buium. Drafted 12th overall by the Wild in 2024, Buium is only 20 years old, yet already projects to be a high end top four, maybe even number 1 defenceman in the NHL.
Buium is an offensively inclined defenceman whose skill at both handling the puck and reading plays, allow him to jump into rushes, and fall back as to not give up odd man rushes the other way. Coming off back to back world junior championships, the young American defenceman will be able to slot nicely into Vancouver’s top 6, and may be given the opportunity to quarterback the Canucks top powerplay unit at some point.
Buium has known a lot of winning in his young career, having won gold at the world juniors 3 times. First as an U18, and twice on the USA’s U20 team. Buium also won the NCAA Championship with the University of Denver in 2024, and in 2025 won Gold at the World Championship with team USA.
Needless to say the most exciting, highest upside peice returning to Vancouver, Buium is as good of a “Hughes replacement” as the Canucks could have hoped to get.
Where to now?
Along with the three exciting young pieces heading to Vancouver, the Canucks also receive the Wild’s 2026 first round pick. A nice little cherry on top, but with the addition of Quinn Hughes into their lineup, it seems unlikely to land anywhere below the mid 20’s.
But with this shocking deal, breaking the hockey world wide open, the message from the Canucks is clear. The organization is finally willing to embrace a rebuild. Canucks management made it known earlier in the season that they would listen to offers on their veteran players, and that has likely not changed. We’ll likely have to wait a while for the next domino to drop, but you can expect the Canucks to potentially be one of the busier teams in the league as we inch closer to the trade deadline.
