The Side of the Quinn Hughes Trade Fans Shouldn't Forget

When Quinn Hughes returns to Vancouver on Sunday night, most of the attention will be on the former Canucks captain. That's understandable. He's a Norris Trophy winner, one of the NHL's most gifted defencemen, and a player who meant a great deal to this organization.

But I've been thinking about the other side of this trade. What about Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, and Liam Ohgren? Minnesota sent those three players to Vancouver to get Hughes. Everybody understands the hockey reasons for the deal. The Wild wanted a superstar who could help them win now, and the Canucks wanted young players and draft capital to help rebuild. That's the business of hockey.

Still, I wonder what it feels like to be on the other side of that transaction.

Nobody Wants to Feel Like the Price of Doing Business.

Imagine being one of these three players. Minnesota drafted you and invested in your development. They gave you an opportunity to become an NHL player. Then, when a superstar becomes available, your organization decides you're part of the price it is willing to pay. Nobody has to say you're unwanted. Nobody has to question your ability. But you can't help noticing that the team decided it was willing to part with you to get somebody else.

I'm not suggesting Rossi, Buium, or Ohgren feels bitter about the trade. We shouldn't pretend to know what's going through their minds. But I do wonder whether there's a little extra motivation when they face their former teammates.

If it were me, I'd want to prove Minnesota made a mistake. Not by complaining or taking a shot at the organization, but by becoming the best player I could be in Vancouver. I'd want the Wild to watch me play and wonder whether they gave up on something valuable.

There's another side to this, too. These players aren't simply trying to establish themselves in the NHL. They're trying to establish themselves in Vancouver, where the loss of Hughes has left a considerable hole to fill.

The Best Answer Is What They Do on the Ice.

Buium, a young defenceman with offensive upside, has a chance to become an important part of Vancouver's blue line. Rossi needs to become a consistent offensive contributor, while Ohgren has a chance to establish himself as a regular NHL forward.

None of them has to replace Hughes individually. That's an unfair expectation. The Canucks acquired three players because they needed help in several areas, not because one of them could immediately become another Quinn Hughes.

But their progress will help determine how this trade is eventually judged. Hughes may be the biggest name in the deal, yet the three players coming back could have years to show what they can become.

The Subplot in Sunday’s Game Against the Wild.

Sunday's game offers an interesting subplot. Hughes will want to help Minnesota win, as he has since arriving there. The three former Wild players will want to help Vancouver do the same. Perhaps they won't see it as a chance for revenge. Perhaps they'll simply see another game on the schedule. Either way, I hope they understand something: being included in a blockbuster trade doesn't define their value as hockey players.

The best response isn't to prove Minnesota wrong for one night. It's to build something in Vancouver that makes the Canucks glad they got the deal done. And if the Wild eventually wonder whether they gave up too much, well, that would be quite an answer, wouldn't it?