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TORONTO, CANADA – JANUARY 19: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Minnesota Wild walks to the ice for warmups prior to a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on January 19, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
It has been roughly 5 weeks since Quinn Hughes joined the Minnesota Wild.
Minnesota landing Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in December sent shockwaves throughout the hockey landscape. Undoubtedly, the Wild have cemented themselves in the conversation regarding true Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference.
The Wild’s acquisition didn’t come with no cost, however. In the transaction, the Wild sent Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, and Marco Rossi to Vancouver along with a 2026 first-round pick. While Buium feels like the biggest hit long-term, Rossi is a hit short-term.
Hughes was asked about his departure from the Canucks pre-game on Monday night before the Wild’s dismantling of the Maple Leafs.NHL
Wild’s Quinn Hughes Gives Blunt Words on Vancouver Canucks
GettyST PAUL, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 14: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Minnesota Wild skates with the puck against Marat Khusnutdinov #92 of the Boston Bruins in the second period at Grand Casino Arena on December 14, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Bruins 6-2. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Quinn Hughes had a chat with the media on Monday before the Leafs showdown on playing with the Wild and his views on the Canucks.
“This is just a better team. Watching Vancouver, I love a lot of those guys, and it’s competitive guys over there who want to do well. It’s tough sometimes, and I’m sure it’s not where they want to be and where I wanted to be when I was there.”
Hughes isn’t really saying anything but the truth here. No one at the professional level wants to lose, and that’s what the Canucks have been doing. Vancouver’s future wasn’t necessarily the brightest when Hughes was there.
He wasn’t going to re-sign, and the most hope they received for the future was in the aforementioned that Hughes demanded from the Wild.
Quinn Hughes Sets Wild Franchise Record
GettyST PAUL, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 14: Quinn Hughes #43 (R) interacts with Vladimir Tarasenko #91 of the Minnesota Wild in the first period of the game against the Boston Bruins at Grand Casino Arena on December 14, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Bruins 6-2. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Quinn Hughes set a Minnesota Wild franchise record on Monday night in Toronto. The NHLPR X page had the details.
“Quinn Hughes (2-18–20 in 18GP) became the fastest player to reach 20 points with the Wild, besting the previous mark held by Cliff Ronning (20GP).”
Hughes broke the record with 2 games to spare, meaning he can build a further lead on the feat.
For reference, Kirill Kaprizov scored 17 points in his first 18 games, and stayed at that mark through 20 games played. The stat is even crazier when you take into account that Hughes is a defenseman.
Wild Travel to Montreal for Game 2 of Back-To-Back
Minnesota travels to Montreal for a tilt with the Canadiens. They will look to build upon their momentum from their two big road wins in Buffalo and Toronto and translate it into a third straight road victory at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.
Montreal has not been victorious over the Wild since October 17th, 2019, and hold a 1-8-1 record against them in their last 10 showdowns.
Brevan Bane Brevan Bane is a sports scribe covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Brevan began his writing career by making a platform on Twitter and leveraging his presence into writing and content creation opportunities for outlets like PurplePTSD, Vikings Territory, The Noise, Hockey Wilderness, and the VikesNow YouTube channel. You can follow him on X @brevmanbane. More about Brevan Bane
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