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At this point, the Canucks front office needed to salvage everything it possibly could out of a situation that had become a league-wide laughing stock. The Canucks could’ve done what everyone was thinking and traded Hughes to the Devils, but they actually thought this through, considered what was best for their team, and controlled what they could for an awesome return.
The Devils didn’t have an NHL-ready, tradable center, which the Canucks have sorely lacked in terms of depth. Guess who did? The Wild.
Instead of a draft pick-heavy deal with the Devils, the Canucks got that coveted first-round pick, an enticing, young center looking for a bigger opportunity in Marco Rossi, and highly touted rookie defenseman Zeev Buium.
The Canucks had been in will-they-won’t-they limbo since the 2023-24 season, but it became increasingly clear that the answer was “won’t.” This type of return from the Wild kickstarts a rebuild that was inevitable when Hughes’ contract was up.