Ex-Canucks coach Rick Tocchet reacts to Quinn Hughes trade
Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, now with the Philadelphia Flyers, is reacting to the surprising trade of Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild that took place on Friday.
The hockey world continues to react to the stunning trade that took place on Friday night, as the Vancouver Canucks sent captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for a trade package that included Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Speaking with Rick Dhaliwal of the 'Donnie & Dhali' Podcast, former Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said that there were plenty of teams who wanted the defenseman and that he believes that both Vancouver and Hughes will benefit from the deal.
Yeah, first of all, I think a lot of teams wanted the guy. The guy's incredible. Incredible human being, an incredible kid to coach. He changes analytics for your team. If you're an average rush team or an average possession team, you acquire him, and all of a sudden, you become one of the top teams. So that's what he can do.
That's why there's a lot of noise around him because he's such a great player. The guy wants to win. He loves the U.S. and wants to play for the U.S. Olympic team. That's a big goal for him, too. There are a lot of moving parts, and it's unfortunate, but I think both parties are going to win on this. I really do. - Rick Tocchet
That's why there's a lot of noise around him because he's such a great player. The guy wants to win. He loves the U.S. and wants to play for the U.S. Olympic team. That's a big goal for him, too. There are a lot of moving parts, and it's unfortunate, but I think both parties are going to win on this. I really do. - Rick Tocchet
The move already paid off for both the Canucks and Wild, who each won their first game with their new players.
Quinn Hughes Scored In His Wild Debut And Said He Was Open To Re-Signing
Not only did Hughes score in his debut in a Wild sweater against the Boston Bruins, but he also said that he would be open to re-signing with the team.
Hughes also appeared to throw shade at other teams who apparently didn't offer the Canucks enough in return for himself.
There are other teams that probably could've thrown in certain packages like that too, but at the end of the day they didn't want to do that, or they didn't want to trade two or three assets from their team like Billy did. I'll remember that. That means a lot to me that Billy did that. - Quinn Hughes
Hughes has one year left on his current contract with an AAV (average annual value) of just under $7 million.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 16|267 ANSWERS Ex-Canucks coach Rick Tocchet reacts to Quinn Hughes trade Who will benefit the most from Friday's trade? | ||
| Quinn Hughes | 155 | 58.1 % |
| The Canucks | 112 | 41.9 % |
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