You’re not dreaming. The Vancouver Canucks actually traded Quinn Hughes.

He was their franchise player, their captain, and will go down as one of the best to have ever suited up for the team. The trade instantly became one of those “where were you” moments. And no matter how the Canucks actually got to the point of needing to trade Hughes, losing a player of his magnitude was a reality nobody wanted to face.

But here we are. Quinn Hughes is officially a member of the Minnesota Wild.

On a late Friday afternoon, the Canucks sent their captain south of the border in exchange for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick. Each piece brings a meaningful layer to the future, but there’s no question who the centrepiece of this deal is, and that’s defenceman Zeev Buium.

When you trade a player like Hughes, there is no such thing as winning the deal in the traditional sense. You’re not replacing him. Instead, you’re resetting around younger pieces who can become serviceable pillars for the next era. And by all accounts, Buium has the potential to be exactly that.

Will he fill the void Hughes leaves behind? That’s a tall order. But rest assured that Vancouver added one of the premier young defencemen in the game of hockey. Having just turned 20 on December 7th, his best years are probably ahead of him.

“He’s an extremely talented, offensive-minded defenceman, that in a very short period of time here, experienced playoffs last year when he was done in Denver and stepped right into the National Hockey League, playing for Minnesota,” said Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin in the team’s post-trade press conference.

“And then following up here this year, where I think he is, he looks stronger, [and] more composed. Our scouting staff have followed him here; it’s exciting. The path is coming. He’s still very young, and we know that for a defenceman, it takes some time, but he definitely has the ability to quarterback a power play here, and we’re really excited to continue to work with him.”

For years, the Canucks tried to stay competitive while simultaneously patching holes. It was a strategy that kept them afloat, but never truly set them up for long-term sustainability. Their start to the 2025–26 season made it clear that something had to give.

Even with the trade, one could not help but wonder what this deal actually meant. With a player like Marco Rossi involved, would this simply be a retool? Shortly after the trade, our answers may have been met.

“They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward,” said Jim Rutherford, President of Hockey Operations.

With those words, there finally appears to be a plan, and moving Hughes may signal a complete reset. Not a retool. Not a soft pivot. A full-fledged rebuild.

And the inclusion of Buium is a player who you can build around, not just a complementary piece. The Canucks targeted him because they saw a defenceman with top-pairing potential, a strong developmental foundation, and one of the best hockey minds of any blue-line prospect in recent draft classes.

He’s not Hughes — nobody is – but he brings a profile that has the upside to replace what he did and work toward becoming an important fixture to this team’s building blueline.

Drafted 12th overall by Minnesota in 2024 — a year when Vancouver didn’t select in the first two rounds — Buium has rapidly climbed into the conversation as one of the best U21 defenders in the sport. Just one quick scan of his resume provides incredible detail to back up those claims.

As an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Denver, Buium delivered one of the most accomplished draft-eligible seasons a defenceman has ever produced. Averaging over 25 minutes per game, he posted 50 points (11 goals, 39 assists) in 42 games and helped lead Denver to a National Championship.

He was a Hobey Baker finalist, the NCHC Player of the Year, and was named the conference’s Best Offensive Defenseman.

He followed that with a nearly identical sophomore season, recording 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) and again taking home more major conference honours. Denver fell just short of a Championship run, falling short in the semi-finals to the eventual NCAA Champions. He promptly signed his official ELC with the Wild shortly after, making his NHL debut days later.

Across two NCAA seasons, he amassed 98 points (24 goals, 74 assists), a plus-50 rating, and one of the most decorated resumes of any modern college defender.

While he was posting high-end numbers in college, he was also a staple on the International stage, helping deliver back-to-back World Junior Championships for Team USA. After making his NHL debut in the spring of 2025, he joined Team USA at the World Championships, doing his part in winning the country’s first World Championships in 92 years.

Buium’s ability to hold his own against the world’s best age-group competition has been a consistent thread in his development.

No one should expect him to progress into the next Quinn Hughes. That’s too much expectation. But the reality is that Zeev Buium brings a ton to his game that screams an NHL top-pairing rearguard who could realistically take over the majority of the duties the former captain left behind. Perhaps not right out the gate, but in the not-so-distant future.

In addition to his incredible resume and winning pedigree, he thinks the game at an astonishing rate. He’s the type of defenceman who makes his team better by insulating chaos.

He plays the game with his head up, constantly scanning the ice and making adjustments when necessary. He has a way of slowing the game down, calmly manipulating defenders and forecheckers by selling routes with subtle jukes and fakes before making the clever play.

While his skating may lack the certain explosiveness that the Vancouver faithful has grown accustomed to with Quinn Hughes navigating the ice, he uses strong edges and efficient pivots in all three zones. It may not be the cleanest, but he escapes pressure by shifting his weight rather than exploding past opponents, and he has no hesitation about joining the rush. In fact, he thrives off the rush.

In a day when fast-twitch defenders such as Lane Hutson and Matthew Schaefer rule the day, Zeev fits the new-age criteria as a modern-day defenceman. Providing quick cuts and pivots, he walks the line with a ton of confidence and picks seams to create pressure with ease. He doesn’t bring an overly explosive shot, but he makes up for it with his clever reads and ability to find teammates, thanks to his strong IQ.

While lessons continue to be learned, Buium is an offensive defenceman through and through. With three goals and 14 points — eight of those having stemmed from the man-advantage — he sits second among all rookie defenders while producing at a near-40-point pace.

If everything goes to plan with his development, he’s well on track to become the Canucks newest power play quarterback and top pairing go-to for the foreseeable future.

Listed as 6-foot, 183 pounds, he’s not the heaviest of defenders, and his defensive game is justifiably considered a work in progress. But Buium more than makes up for it by playing a smart game rather than a physical one and competes with every passing shift.

Averaging 18:28 of ice time per game, he has seen the majority of his time on the Wild’s third-pair with Zach Bogosian. With a 45.47% Corsi rating, along with a 44.73 Expected Goals For, the numbers suggest that he’s giving up far more chances against than for at his young age. Before joining the NHL, his defensive reliability was strong. But as you might expect from a 20-year-old, his rookie season has come with its hiccups and adjustments. At his best, he reads the game well, provides strong gaps to quickly and effectively shut down lanes, and plays with an active stick.

He may be likely to bring far more impact from the offensive side of the puck. But sliding in alongside a short list of savvy defenders, such as Tom Willander and Elias Pettersson, to name a few, the Canucks should bring a suitable environment for him to thrive as the go-to option for production.

Moving Quinn Hughes will remain one of the most polarizing decisions in franchise history. It will be debated for years and ultimately judged by what Vancouver does next, not what it gave up.

But if the goal was to bring in a prospect capable of anchoring the next phase of the rebuild, Zeev Buium is that type of player. His game is built on poise, precision, and intelligence. And his blue-chip projection carries the kind of long-term value teams crave when reshaping their identity.