The star players Vancouver passed up by not trading Quinn Hughes to Buffalo revealed by insider
According to NHL insider Greg Wyshynski, had the Canucks traded Quinn Hughes to the Sabres, they could have had Bowen Byram and Zach Benson in return.
Quinn Hughes wasted little time making his presence known with the Minnesota Wild.
What Quinn Hughes did in his very first game with the Wild
On Sunday's home tilt with the Boston Bruins, he burst up the ice, found a lane as four Bruins were hanging back in the defensive zone, and simply glided over the blue line. He converted a feed from Ryan Hartman into a goal past Jeremy Swayman.
The arena erupted, and the Wild's social channels basked in the moment with a bold "WELCOME TO QUINNESOTA."
At the age of 26, Hughes had spent eight seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, where he was the backbone of the franchise and among the NHL's top D-men.
A two-time Norris finalist and winner in 2024, Hughes is sitting second in points by a defenseman since 2022, only behind Colorado's Cale Makar, where he's racked up 336 points.
With Vancouver eyeing a rebuild and Hughes eyeing free agency in 2027, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and Hughes' camp explored a trade.
Minnesota's move sent shockwaves around the league as it landed him in a deal that included three former first-round picks: center Marco Rossi, forward Liam Ohgren, and defenseman Zeev Buium, along with a 2026 first-round pick, all without any guarantee Hughes would re-sign.
Why the Quinn Hughes trade was surprising
The swap was all the more surprising because Hughes didn't head to the expected destinations.
He didn't head to New Jersey to join his brothers Jack and Luke, nor to Detroit, the family's home state, and he wasn't tied to the clubs that had been heavily linked in trade chatter.
There was another route Vancouver could have explored. If they'd struck a deal with Buffalo, they could've landed two major players, per NHL insider Greg Wyshynski.
"The Buffalo Sabres reportedly made their pitch, desperately seeking a path back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Forward Zach Benson is a player the Canucks have coveted since they passed on him in favor of defenseman Tom Willander in the 2023 draft. Benson and defenseman Bowen Byram would have been the primary pieces in any deal that saw Hughes end up in Buffalo."
- Greg Wyshynski
- Greg Wyshynski
The Sabres reportedly floated a plan to accelerate their playoff push, with forward Zach Benson and defenseman Bowen Byram as key assets that Vancouver has long admired.
In any case, a new chapter has begun, and we are all living in a new world now.
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DECEMBRE 16 | 420 ANSWERS The star players Vancouver passed up by not trading Quinn Hughes to Buffalo revealed by insider Should the Canucks have traded Quinn Hughes to Buffalo instead? | ||
| Yes | 78 | 18.6 % |
| No | 342 | 81.4 % |
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