ST. PAUL, Minn - The Minnesota Wild shocked the NHL when a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Quinn Hughes happened on Friday night.

The cost was steep for Minnesota but it had to be to acquire a player of that magnitude.

Minnesota gave up Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick for Hughes.

Hughes, 26, is widely known as the second best defenseman in the NHL behind Colorado Avalanche defender Cale Makar.

Since making his NHL debut on March 28, 2019 vs. Los Angeles, Hughes leads all NHL defensemen in assists and power-play points and ranks second among blueliners in points.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Hughes ranks first in assists (285), second in points (335) and power-play points (144). Makar ranks first in points (371). That is 335 points in 330 games for Hughes.

The craziest thing about this trade is some of the top defenders in the league are now all in the Central Division.

Hughes on the Wild, Makar on the Avalanche, Miro Heiskanen on the Dallas Stars and Josh Morrissey on the Winnipeg Jets. Morrissey ranks sixth in assists (213) and seventh in points (270) in 348 games.

Heiskanen ranks 11th in assists (180), 14th in points (217) and fifth in ice time (25:08). Morrissey is 13th (24:10), Makar is second (25:34) and Hughes is third (25:29). Brock Faber is actually seventh (25:02).

Not to mention Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators. He is fifth in assists (215) and fourth in points (290) since the 2021 season.

The Central Division is already the best Division in the NHL. The Avalanche are first in the NHL, the Stars are second and the Wild are fifth in terms of points. Minnesota has beaten both teams this season.

Hughes is one of the best defensemen in the NHL, there is no question about that. Players like Hughes almost never become available, and when they do, the cost reflects it. Minnesota paid that price because this version of the Wild believes its window is open right now.

The ripple effect stretches beyond St. Paul. The Central Division was already the NHL’s most demanding grind, and now it features four of the league’s elite defensemen logging massive minutes every night.

Minnesota has already proven it can go toe-to-toe with Colorado and Dallas this season. With Hughes in the fold, the Wild didn’t just keep up with the division’s arms race, they stepped directly into it, prepared for whatever comes next.

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