NHL EDGE stats: Hughes trade boosts Wild’s Stanley Cup chances

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we take a look at the Minnesota Wild’s outlook after acquiring elite defenseman Quinn Hughes.

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The Minnesota Wild acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, and the defenseman’s elite advanced metrics can make them a bona fide Stanley Cup contender.

The 26-year-old, who can become an unrestricted free agent after next season (2026-27), could give the Wild one of the top five skater duos in the NHL with forward Kirill Kaprizov. Hughes, who was the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, won the Norris Trophy in 2024 with a career-high 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) and, in just his seventh full NHL season, was already the Canucks’ all-time defenseman leader in points (432 in 459 games) and assists (371).

Since Hughes’ first full season in 2019-20, he ranked second among defensemen in points (429 in 454 games) behind Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche (465 points in 426 games) prior to the trade. And, dating back to Hughes’ NHL debut on March 28, 2019, he led defensemen in both assists and power-play points (190) prior to the trade. Among active NHL defensemen, Hughes ranked second in points per game (0.94) behind Makar (1.09) prior to the trade.

Hughes, who was tied with Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars for the defenseman lead in power-play points (12) and tied for 11th at the position in points (23 in 26 games) this season prior to the trade, has had three seasons of 30-plus power-play points, including a career-high 38 in 2023-24.

Minnesota, which already has a strong power play (21.5 percent; 11th), could reach another gear after finally landing a high-scoring power-play quarterback. The Wild’s first man-advantage unit already featured two of the NHL’s goal-scoring leaders in Kaprizov (18; tied for sixth) and Matt Boldy (17; tied for ninth) prior to the trade.

Hughes and the Wild could help each other reach their full potential; Hughes has 26 points (two goals, 24 assists) in 30 career Stanley Cup Playoff games but has never reached the conference finals. The Wild have lost opening-round series in each of their past eight postseason appearances and haven’t reached the Western Conference Final since 2002-03.

Here are three underlying reasons Hughes could make the Wild a Stanley Cup contender:

1. Shooting metrics

Hughes, despite missing five games this season because of injury, has been a standout among defensemen in hardest shot (95.04 mph; 87th percentile) and boasts outstanding totals in midrange shots on goal (29; 99th percentile; third at position behind Zach Werenski’s 39, Matthew Schaefer’s 30) and long-range shots on goal (28; 88th percentile at position).

Last season, Hughes was also among the defenseman leaders in high-danger shots on goal (12; 95th percentile), in addition to midrange shots (37; 94th percentile) and long-range shots (105; 98th percentile; eighth at position). It’s worth noting Hughes has yet to score a midrange goal this season after shooting 13.5 percent from midrange areas last season, when he ranked in the 94th percentile among defensemen in midrange goals (five). Last season, Hughes ranked second in the entire NHL in long-range goals (nine; behind Makar’s 11).

2. Possession stats

Hughes had by far Vancouver’s best 5-on-5 shot attempts differential (plus-81) this season and now could significantly boost the Wild’s offense, which ranked fifth worst in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (47.2) this season prior to the trade. Minnesota ranked eighth in offensive zone time percentage (41.5) this season prior to the trade, while Hughes ranked third among defensemen in that category (47.7; 99th percentile) behind Shayne Gostisbehere (49.1) and Adam Fox (48.2).

The Hughes trade should also only help the goal support for Minnesota’s goalie tandem of Filip Gustavsson and rookie Jesper Wallstedt. This season prior to the trade, the Wild were tied for second in team save percentage (.911; behind Avalanche's .918) and lead the NHL in both shutouts (six) and 5-on-5 save percentage (.933). Other metrics for the Wild that Hughes should improve are their shots on goal per game (28.1; 17th), 5-on-5 goals (52; third worst) and 5-on-5 shooting percentage (7.8; tied for third worst).

3. Skating speed

Hughes has the highest max skating speed among defensemen of the puck and player tracking era (since 2021-22), when he reached 24.56 miles per hour last season. Hughes, who should help the Wild immensely with zone entries, ranked in the 90th percentile or higher among defensemen in other key skating-related EDGE stats this season prior to the trade:

• Max skating speed: 22.51 mph (90th percentile)
• 20-plus mph speed bursts: 57 (98th percentile; seventh among D-men)
• Total skating distance: 105.28 miles (94th percentile)
• Power-play skating distance: 18.31 miles (99th percentile; second among D-men)
• Miles skated in single game: 4.76 (99th percentile; leads D-men)
• Miles skated in single period: 1.79 (99th percentile; leads D-men)

Per NHL EDGE IQ, the Wild were tied for the third-fewest goals off the rush this season (22) prior to the Hughes trade and had the fifth-fewest inferenced shot attempts off the rush per game (12.8). NHL EDGE IQ defines goals off the rush as goals that occur within five seconds of the puck crossing the offensive blue line. Inferenced shot attempts exclude those taken from greater than 60 feet, beyond the goal line or against an empty net.

Hughes, who led the entire NHL in average ice time (27:26) this season prior to the trade, should have some pressure taken off with a better supporting cast in Minnesota and another young workhorse defenseman in Brock Faber, who’s 23 years old and was leading the Wild in average ice time (24:15; tied for 14th in NHL). Although Minnesota is in the same division as the Avalanche and Dallas Stars and has inferior center depth compared to those teams, the Wild ranked second in points percentage from Nov. 1 to the time of the Hughes trade (.789; behind Colorado’s .868), closing the gap in the Central Division.