Guerin's call on Hughes pays off for Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin said when a player like Quinn Hughes is available, you make the call.

Guerin did just that roughly one week ago, after encouragement from assistant general manager Mat Sells, who told Guerin: "This might sound nuts, but ... maybe make the call."

"And I did," said Guerin.

On Friday night, Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford called back.

Guerin was in the middle of preparing meatballs for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas was indeed coming early for the Wild, with Rutherford accepting Guerin's offer of Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft in exchange for the 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner.

“I had to take my latex gloves off, I was rolling meatballs and he told me we have a deal,” Guerin said. “There was a fist pump involved.”

Hughes will make his Wild debut when they host the Boston Bruins on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; FDSNNO, FDSNWI, NESN).

The Wild (18-9-5) are third in the Central Division. After beginning the season 3-6-3 through Oct. 30, they have gone 15-3-2 in their past 20 games after Saturday's 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators.

So why was now the time to get in on the Hughes lottery?

“Because it's Quinn Hughes,” Guerin said. “And I don't know what the right moment is, but if you wait for it, you're gonna miss it. …When it's a player of this caliber, the right time's always now.

“Bringing a player like Quinn Hughes here, you just don’t get these opportunities all that often. Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, all great kids, great players with bright futures. Definitely hard to part with guys that you draft, develop, you spend time with. ... But like I said, when a player of Quinn’s caliber comes available, and you have an opportunity to get him, there’s a cost to it and we were willing to do what it takes.”

Hughes, who was in his eighth season with the Canucks after being selected by them in the first round (No. 7) of the 2018 NHL Draft, has 432 points (61 goals, 371 assists), the most by a defenseman in Vancouver franchise history, and 26 points (two goals, 24 assists) in 30 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) in 26 games this season, leading the Canucks at the time of the trade.

The 26-year-old defenseman had career highs of 92 points, 17 goals and 75 assists when he won the Norris two seasons ago, and was a finalist again last season, when he had 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists).

“One of if not the best defenseman in the league, so it’s awesome,” said Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber, who will likely be paired with Hughes. “It’s going to be an absolute treat because he’s terrible to play against, so having him on our side is going to be incredible."

Wild captain Jared Spurgeon salivates at the idea of Hughes’ addition to the team’s power play, which is currently 11th in the League at 21.8 percent.

“When you watch him, just how he can break pucks out and create offense from the D zone, and obviously on the power play he’s a special player as well,” Spurgeon said. “He can make plays that are so hard look so easy to him with his skating, so, like I said, we're excited to get him going here tomorrow, and bring him in.”

Hughes is in the fifth season of a six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85 million average annual value) he signed on Oct. 3, 2021, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.

Guerin hasn’t been given any reassurances that Hughes will sign an extension when eligible on July 1, 2026, but he believes the quality of hockey being played and the opportunity to be Stanley Cup contenders this year will be enough to persuade him.

“Listen, you can’t make promises,” Guerin said. “And after the deal is done, talking to Quinn, and Quinn’s agent, I think Quinn will really like it here. He’s a hockey nut. He watches every game. He knows what’s going on in the League. Getting to know him through the 4 Nations process he just loves hockey. And I think there’s no better market than Minnesota to be a hockey player. I believe in our team and our culture and our organization and our market, our fans, our – I mean, hockey’s in the fabric here, and I think he’ll really like it.

“I'm very proud. Look, I love Minnesota. Our players love Minnesota. This is a great place to play. …You can live in these great places, or make a little more money, but if the hockey is not good, you won't be happy. So that's what really matters. If the hockey is good, if your job is good, you will be happy. And I think he'll be really happy."