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The betting market didn’t take long to react once the Quinn Hughes trade became official, and the ripple effects of the deal were immediate on both the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks sides.
Minnesota’s aggressive move to acquire the star defenseman didn’t just reshape its blue line — it reshaped expectations across the league, while Vancouver’s long-shot status to win the Stanley Cup grew even more pronounced.
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Before the trade, the Wild sat firmly in the middle tier of Cup contenders. After adding Hughes, sportsbooks adjusted quickly. Minnesota’s Stanley Cup odds jumped from +4500 to +2800, while its Western Conference odds shortened from +2200 to +1400. The move signaled real belief in the Wild as a legitimate postseason threat, one that now projects as far more secure in the playoff picture and significantly more dangerous come April.
However, as you will see below, while the Wild’s odds to raise the Cup increased almost twofold, the team still faces a tough road to win it all.
Vancouver, on the other hand, immediately felt the sting. The Canucks’ already slim championship hopes took another hit, with their Stanley Cup odds drifting from +30000 to +50000 and their Western Conference odds sliding from +15000 to +35000. The market’s message was clear: losing Hughes wasn’t just about subtracting talent; it was about losing a foundational piece who drove their ceiling.
The Hughes trade didn’t create a new favorite — it created separation. The Wild moved decisively into the contender tier, while the Canucks drifted further into rebuild territory. As the season unfolds, the odds will continue to shift, but one thing is already clear: this trade immediately altered the betting landscape in the Western Conference.
Hughes boosts Minnesota’s floor more than Stanley Cup odds
When the Hughes trade dropped, the first thing I checked was how it would affect everyone’s odds. Regarding playoff odds, the deal made a decent impact. The Wild became an even bigger lock, and the Canucks sank further. However, the impact on Minnesota’s Stanley Cup odds was a lot smaller than expected. Technically, Minnesota’s odds doubled, but it was only from 1 percent to 2 percent.
The main reason for that is the NHL’s awful playoff structure. With Hughes, the Wild are a borderline top-five team, but two teams from the division still stand in their way. That means a very difficult path ahead, where the Wild likely play the first two rounds on the road, and they’d be underdogs in both series.
Things would be tight enough against the Dallas Stars, but the Colorado Avalanche look like an absolute behemoth, likely to give any team a hard time. Having to get through that gauntlet limits just how much Hughes’ impact affects the team’s Cup odds. A lot can change from here until April, but the presence of the Avalanche looms large in the Central Division. — Dom Luszczyszyn, national NHL writer