One of the most thrilling storylines in the NHL right now is the landmark trade between the Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild for star defenseman Quinn Hughes. Hughes’ trade succeeds a prolonged period of speculation about his future, given the sinister turn the Canucks’ season has taken.
Interestingly, the Wild did not feature among the many teams most aggressively linked to the blueliner, such as the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings. Hughes’ departure from Vancouver is a massive change, one that the Canucks’ brass will take some time to digest.
Rookie Forward Braeden Cootes Speaks Up About Quinn Hughes Trade
The Canucks have received a hefty return from Bill Guerin for the former captain. However, losing a franchise cornerstone like Hughes comes with its own baggage. “It’s difficult trading a player like Quinn,” Jim Rutherford confessed, as reported by NHL media. The trade has also happened amid a particularly disastrous season for the team. 18-year-old forward, Braeden Cootes, has also expressed his feelings in the wake of the Hughes-Wild trade.
The rookie center is far from happy with the turn of events. “That was pretty crazy. You could kind of tell maybe something was going to happen. It sucks, he was such a good player, he was so good to me. He was a great leader, always included me in everything. We got good players, some young guys which is always good. But it’s pretty crazy,” the 18-year-old confessed, as reported by TSN’s Mark Masters.
Cootes’ statements further underline Hughes’ massive impact on rising Canucks players. However, a player of the defenseman’s caliber ought to feel demotivated by the turn the Canucks’ season has taken this year. Far from a comeback, Vancouver is faring the worst of every NHL team with 27 points.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Hughes, exasperated with the season and the Canucks’ performance, had certainly conveyed that he would not sign a contract extension to stay in Vancouver. When the reality of Hughes’ departure finally sank in with the Canucks, it was not easy to digest.
“Quinn Hughes has been a big part of the organization and a great person and a great hockey player and has a lot of records. It’s a tough, tough day, but we’re also excited about the return on the players we got here, the younger players and we’ll continue to build with them from Minnesota,” GM Patrik Allvin stated in the wake of the trade, trying to sound optimistic about the Canucks’ coming days.
Of course, Vancouver has a lot of work to do to salvage this season. How the team takes it forward with Hughes out of the lineup remains to be seen.
