The Vancouver Canucks are trading captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild, according to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Friedman reported on Thursday night that Quinn Hughes trade talks were underway, although he did admit it was hard to determine when the Canucks might pull the trigger on a deal.

According to both Friedman and TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Canucks are getting a haul back in return. The return package to the Canucks is: Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium, and a 1st round pick.

The rumours around the Canucks’ captain cranked up in recent weeks, as Vancouver continues to hang out around or at the very bottom of the NHL standings. This season has been a disaster for the Canucks, and with Hughes becoming extension-eligible this summer, the Canucks clearly felt that their captain wasn’t going to be committing to them long term.

Originally drafted 7th overall in 2018, Hughes leaves the Canucks as the club’s all-time leader in points by a defenceman with 432, passing Alex Edler earlier this season. Hughes also took home the first Norris Trophy in Canucks franchise history back in 2023-24 as the league’s top defenceman.

As for the return package coming back to the Canucks… The club has long been interested in Marco Rossi, who turned 24 years old in September. A left shot centre, Rossi has posted back-to-back 20 goal campaigns with the Wild, and is up to 13 points through 17 games this season. Rossi was the ninth overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Zeev Buium is a 20-year-old left-shot defenceman that the Wild selected at 12th overall in 2024. Arguably the most intriguing piece of the Canucks’ return, Daily Faceoff ranked Buium as the Wild’s number one prospect this past offseason. Buium is already up to 14 points through 31 games in his first NHL season.

The pick coming back to the Canucks is Minnesota’s 2026, although it’s unclear if there are any conditions on the pick.

LOTS more to come. Watch our emergency episode of Canucks Conversation below!