New player bring bounce, trade fallout and J.T. Miller’s New York Rangers up on Tuesday<\/p>\n
Published Dec 15, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 57\u00a0minutes ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 11 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Welcome to Canucks Live. Here we\u2019ll highlight some of the news that drops daily about the Canucks. Come back throughout the day as we update with all the news you need to know. If you haven\u2019t done so already, sign up for our Canucks Report<\/a> to get our stories delivered to your inbox every day.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. 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Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Nice quiet weekend, anything happen in Canuckworld over the weekend? We always knew the Canucks would bury a trade getting rid of one of their Mount Rushmore worthy players on a Friday night with Christmas parties and weather stories offering a distraction. The fact is we won\u2019t know for a season or two how this trade really worked out, but Quinn Hughes<\/a> is gone and the Canucks were the worst team in the NHL with him, we wait now to see what they are without him.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The initial returns were good, with Vancouver beating New Jersey largely down to a jolt from the additions. This often happens with players when they\u2019re traded, you see an immediate spike (does not apply to Lukas Reichel), but can it continue? Ben Kuzma\u2019s post game report card was offering encouraging words for the new look Canucks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Zeev Buium, who turned 20 last week, built a strong foundation by capturing world championship gold with the U.S. last May and a world junior title, put up 48 points in 41 games (13-35) in his final NCAA season at Denver, and has logged 32 games this NHL season.<\/p>\n And in a Sunday matinee at New Jersey, the highly-touted trade acquisition drew the second assist on Jake DeBrusk\u2019s opening power-play goal just 61 seconds into the game. He then had his cross-ice power play feed from the slot to the far post go into the net off defenceman Brenden Dillon. A goal and a helper in the opening 6:48 of a 2-1 matinee victory over the Devils to open a tough five-game road trip.<\/p>\n Marco Rossi (C+): Smart. Shifty. Read game well. Grade A wrister off post. Won 60 per cent of draws.<\/p>\n Canucks Report<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Liam Ohgren (C): Big body willing to battle, win board battles off end wall, get to the net.<\/p>\n Zeev Buium (B): Quite the debut for rookie rearguard. Poised. Comfortable. Smart. Two points.\u00a0<\/p>\n The axiom with most trades, especially ones that involve one big star for several pieces back, is the team who gets the best player wins the trade. But the Canucks were so bereft of talent, giving up the best defenceman they\u2019ve ever had for three quality starters and a first-round pick could be the kind of course correction that lifts them from the depths of the NHL.<\/p>\n On the other side of the ledger, Hughes got off to a great start in Minnesota<\/a> scoring in his debut.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a whirlwind for sure. I\u2019m just looking forward to kind of getting my feet on the ground and get with the team here and get in a day-to-day lifestyle here,\u201d he said after scoring once in Sunday\u2019s 6-2 win over Boston. \u201cThe last 48 hours have been a lot, but I was excited to go play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The comments were his first since Hughes was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Vancouver on Friday. The Wild gave up three former first-round picks \u2014 Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium and Liam Ohgren \u2014 and a 2026 first-round pick to acquire one of the league\u2019s top blueliners.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt a little bit like we had a little more swagger out there today,\u201d goalie Filip Gustavsson said.<\/p>\n Wild coach John Hynes noted Hughes didn\u2019t get as much as a pre-game skate before playing for real with his new teammates. Puck drop was 5 p.m. local time.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, I thought it was exciting to have him, and obviously you see the type of player he is. I think he fits in well with our group and the way that we wanna play,\u201d Hynes said.<\/p>\n Hughes received rousing ovations when he hit the ice for warm-ups and when he was the last player to leave the frozen surface.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting that. But that was very cool. I know it\u2019s a hockey market but that was exciting,\u201d Hughes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s hockey desk graded the trade in true knee-jerk fashion, they like it for both teams.<\/p>\n Canucks grade: A Figuring out whether the franchise needed to move on from Hughes might have been the most difficult.<\/p>\n Speculation about Hughes\u2019 future ramped up significantly this off-season, when team president Jim Rutherford said that Hughes wanted to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke, who are on the New Jersey Devils.<\/p>\n Eventually, the Canucks were playing out two hypotheticals: one in which they kept Hughes, attempted to turn things around but ran the risk of losing him in free agency with nothing in return at the end of the 2026-27 season, and another in which they moved on from him at some point, commanding the sort of trade package that could help them now and in the future.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n They went with the second option, which has a chance to potentially start paying dividends now for a franchise that entered Friday with the worst record in the NHL \u2014 but that is also the owner of two first-round picks in this summer\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n Buium projects as a top-pairing, puck-moving defenceman who could be used in various situations. He joins a top four that includes Filip Hronek<\/a>, Marcus Pettersson and Tyler Myers<\/a>. He gives the Canucks another young defenceman for the future, in a young group that also includes Elias Pettersson<\/a> and Tom Willander. He\u2019s in the second year of his entry-level contract and will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n Ohgren is a potential top-nine option who has shown promise with what he has done at the AHL level. By skating more minutes with the Canucks, he could possibly find offensive consistency. He has two years remaining before becoming an RFA.<\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Rossi has a chance to establish himself as the Canucks\u2019 second-line centre upon his return from injury. Trading J.T. Miller<\/a> last season created a void that was slated to be filled by a player who came over in that deal, Filip Chytil. <\/p>\n Rossi, who is in the first year of a three-year bridge deal, provides the Canucks with another top-six option down the middle.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wild grade: A- Hughes gives the Wild a Norris Trophy winner who can be used in every situation, starting with the offensive zone. Finding ways to consistently score goals has been a challenge for the Wild over the past few seasons.<\/p>\n Advertisement 9<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Not that Hughes can single-handedly solve for that one problem. But he can definitely help, considering he has had four straight seasons of more than 60 assists and is projected to finish with 56 having missed a portion of this season with an injury.<\/p>\n Of course, adding Hughes came with a premium package going the other way. Buium was in his first full NHL season, having been a first-round pick in 2024. Ohgren was a first-round pick in 2022, and Rossi was a first-round pick in 2020.<\/p>\n The thought was that Buium would be part of the long-term plan, whereas Ohgren was a bit more of a work in progress given he had spent part of the season in the AHL. Rossi re-signed with the Wild having just spent the 2024-25 season and the early portion of the off-season as a possible trade target before agreeing to that new deal.<\/p>\n Advertisement 10<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Parlaying a sizable part of their future to get Hughes signals that the Wild are intent on breaking into that collection of teams that are in a championship window. Two of them \u2014 the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars \u2014 are ahead of the Wild in the Central Division standings right now.<\/p>\n Hughes has one more year left on his current contract at $7.85 million before hitting free agency in the summer of 2027, but he can sign an extension as of July 1, 2026. Whatever happens between now and then could play a role in defining one of the biggest trades in Wild franchise history.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Athletic had a similar take,<\/a> suggesting this is a deal that works for both sides.<\/p>\n The Hughes deal works for both teams \u2014 The Canucks did as well as they could have hoped, and maybe a bit better. You can certainly criticize all the steps and missteps that got them to a place where they felt they had to move Hughes, but once they arrived here, they played it reasonably well.<\/p>\n Advertisement 11<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s an overpay by the Wild by any stretch, at least assuming that Hughes will give them a fair chance at extending him. And remember, if worst comes to worst and the Wild can\u2019t get an extension done, they could always move Hughes at next year\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n Is Hughes the best young player to be traded in the cap era? \u2014 I think there\u2019s a legitimate argument. Hughes just turned 26 and already has a Norris Trophy. He\u2019s roughly the same age as Joe Thornton was when he went to the Sharks, and he\u2019d had a 100-point season but didn\u2019t become a truly elite star until he got to San Jose. P.K. Subban had a Norris when he went from Montreal to Nashville. Names like Matthew Tkachuk, Mikko Rantanen, Jack Eichel and Tyler Seguin are in the conversation.<\/p>\n Advertisement 12<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Maybe the best comparison for Hughes is one that Wild fans might not love: Erik Karlsson, who was 28 and had two Norris wins when he went to San Jose in a trade that didn\u2019t work out as well as Sharks fans would have hoped. But yeah, Hughes might be a bigger star right now than any of those guys.<\/p>\n While they like the trade it didn\u2019t move the Canucks out of the basement of their bottom five teams.<\/p>\n 1. Vancouver Canucks<\/a> (12-17-3, -25) \u2014 The Hughes trade would seem to signal that management is giving up on the season and focusing on the future, which is of course the right call. Still, Zeev Buium looked pretty good in his debut.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Thomas Drance also explored how this trade reshapes the Vancouver Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n The Canucks no longer have Hughes, so this trade fundamentally alters the organization. Hughes was the best defender in franchise history, and his loss will have an incalculable impact on this team. It effectively launched the Canucks into at least a short-term rebuilding mode. Considering they rank 32nd in the NHL by point percentage, they were arguably there already, but now they\u2019ll pursue that end with more intentionality and purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement 13<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It has to hurt for Canucks fans to think how close they were to beating the Oilers taking them to a Game 7 just two seasons ago. Now Hughes is gone and the team seems as far away from the Stanley Cup as they\u2019ve ever been. The shape started shifting last season with the soap opera between Elias Pettersson<\/a> and J.T. Miller<\/a> who was traded to the Rangers. He\u2019d got off to an awful start with the Blueshirts this season but has picked it up lately, scoring twice on the weekend to beat Montreal. He limped out of practice on Sunday so unclear if he\u2019ll be fit to face Vancouver on Tuesday, but he seems to be looking more lately like the J.T. Miller who was a Canuck cornerstone an saw the fans chanting his name at Rogers Arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s basically how I evaluate myself: Are you driving the play or not? Or are you just out there?\u201d Miller said. \u201cI was just kind of wasting energy, it felt like. I couldn\u2019t get into rhythm and timing.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 14<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It amplified questions about the wisdom of committing to a volatile 32-year-old who\u2019s been traded three times \u2014 including once previously from New York \u2014 but Miller has been on a noticeable upswing of late.<\/p>\n After registering only nine points through his first 20 games, he\u2019s matched that total with a point-per-game pace in his last nine contests. Still, Miller pushed back on the notion that his improvement started around that marker, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t even think it\u2019s the last (nine games). I might have had points in those games, but I wasn\u2019t driving play.\u201d<\/p>\n In his mind, the turnaround began just last week. His coach, Mike Sullivan, fully concurred.<\/p>\n \u201cJ.T.\u2019s last few games are among his best that he\u2019s had all year long,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cThere were a few instances where you\u2019re watching from the bench, and the feeling I get is that, \u2018He\u2019s in a beast mode.\u2019 When he\u2019s possessing the puck in the offensive zone, using his size and his physical stature to protect pucks and roll off the pressure and look for that next play, he\u2019s hard to handle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement 15<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Zeev Buium has \u2018potential to be as good as Quinn\u2019 \u2013 Darren Dregar<\/p>\n It sounds like hyperbole but when it comes from one of TSN\u2019s insiders it\u2019s worth noting. Darren Dregar was on the Sekeres & Price show this morning<\/a> and was asked if defenseman Zeev Buium was the best player (not package deal) that was offered to the Canucks. And while Dregar did not know who the other teams were offering he was high on Buium.<\/p>\n Dregar: I mean this kid is special. He is. So you know who we are talking about off the roster given his age, talent set, all of those things and it\u2019s impossible to say because nobody is going to officially disclose that. For sure there\u2019s going to be parts that are leaked through speculation that we\u2019re gonna learn of. But I can look at any of the four teams that we mentioned (New Jersey, Detroit, New York Rangers, and Buffalo) at their rosters and what they\u2019ve got developing and pick a player that I think might get into that category of where Zeev is, but you\u2019re talking right up there in the penthouse.<\/p>\n Advertisement 16<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Minnesota did not want to give up on this kid \u2013they didn\u2019t. But they realized or recognized that \u2018if we aren\u2019t gonna go to war with Dallas and or Colorado and we\u2019re gonna try and win a Stanley a couple of the next couple of years, Quinn Hughes<\/a> gives us a better option than Buium does, but I think in time Zeev Buium\u00a0 has the potential to be as good as Quinn Hughes. I mean, that\u2019s how talented this kid is.<\/p>\n Check back for more Canucks news throughout the day \u2026<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Canucks Coffee: How Thatcher Demko rebounded with a timely assist from Tyler Myers<\/p>\n![\"Buium\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Canucks-Devils-Hockey.jpg\")
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium looks on after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Sunday, Dec 14, 2025, in Newark, N.J. Photo by Noah K. Murray \/APArticle content<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.1.2\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-vp.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Going from being a game away from the Western Conference finals in 2024 to potentially winning the lottery over a two-year period prompted some difficult questions in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the Wild built one of the best farm systems in the NHL. Investing in their system and in player development gave them options \u2026 and they used three of those options to land one of the NHL\u2019s best defencemen.<\/p>\n![\"Thatcher](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2251318762.jpg\")
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