Quinn Hughes will skate into Rogers Arena on Sunday for the first time as a Minnesota Wild defenseman, carrying gratitude for Vancouver and an open mind about what kind of reception awaits him.
- Hughes and the Wild visit the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET. The game will be shown on SN, MINNHL and Wild+.
- Before that return, Minnesota plays the Seattle Kraken on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, with Wild+, Prime Video, MINNHL and KONG carrying the game.
- Hughes was traded from Vancouver to Minnesota on Dec. 12, 2025, after serving as Canucks captain since Sept. 11, 2023.
- The 27-year-old is in the last season of the six-year, $47.1 million contract he signed with Vancouver on Oct. 1, 2021. Its average annual value is $7.85 million.
- Eligible to extend with Minnesota since July 1, Hughes said he is happy with the Wild and suggested a deal could come together soon.
- Hughes has posted 66 points, including seven goals and 59 assists, in 59 games with Minnesota. This season, he has two goals and 11 assists in 11 games.
- When coach John Hynes and associate coach Jack Capuano have used him alongside Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov, Hughes said it has been the most enjoyable hockey of his career.
What Hughes’ return means for Sunday in Vancouver
The Wild blue-liner does not know whether the Rogers Arena crowd will cheer, boo or offer a mix of both. He said the reaction will not alter his feelings about the city where his NHL career began.
“I don’t know what to expect,” Hughes said before Minnesota’s game in Seattle. “Whether I’m booed or whatever, that won’t change how I feel about that place and how grateful I am for the experiences I had there.”
Vancouver drafted Hughes seventh overall in 2018. He debuted on March 28, 2019, then became the highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history, recording 61 goals and 371 assists for 432 points across 459 games before his final Canucks appearance on Dec. 11, 2025.
His best individual season came in 2023-24, when he won the Norris Trophy after putting up 17 goals and 75 assists for 92 points in 82 games.
Hughes said the intensity around the Canucks helped shape him. With no Major League Baseball, NBA or NFL team in Vancouver, the Canucks own the city’s sporting spotlight on game nights.
“I was really lucky to start my career there,” Hughes said. “Being in a Canadian market was really special for me. A lot of the reasons I’m the person and player I am come from my experiences in Vancouver.”
He thanked the organization’s ownership, former hockey operations president Jim Rutherford, former general manager Jim Benning, his coaches and teammates for helping him develop. Hughes said he believes he played hard for the club, but accepts that his Vancouver legacy is no longer fully in his hands.
“I play for the Wild now,” he said. “How I’m remembered is how I’m going to be remembered. I felt like I gave it everything I had and played some really good hockey there.”
Hughes has faced the Canucks once since the trade, picking up an assist in Minnesota’s 5-2 home victory on April 2.
He arrives in Vancouver after watching another former Canadian-market captain receive a rough homecoming. Brady Tkachuk was booed and chanted at during his return to Ottawa on Wednesday with the Florida Panthers. Tkachuk, who spent eight seasons with the Senators and captained them for five, scored in a 5-1 Ottawa win after requesting a trade and joining his brother Matthew in Florida on June 21.
Hughes defended his Team USA teammate, saying Tkachuk competed hard and represented Ottawa with class. He also acknowledged that such emotion comes with the territory in Canadian markets.
Canucks forward Brock Boeser, one of Hughes’ closest friends from their Vancouver years, hopes Sunday brings a warmer response.
Boeser said Hughes “gave it his all” in a Canucks sweater and deserves a proper tribute. He added that every player has his own route through the League and that he does not fault Hughes for choosing his next chapter in Minnesota.
For Hughes, that chapter may be longer than one season. He said his focus is planted with the Wild, a club he believes has the pieces to reach the playoffs and contend this year.
“I’m really enjoying playing here,” Hughes said. “There are a lot of things set up nicely for me to have success individually, and as a team, I think we’ve got a great team.”
