The NHL saw a massive trade go down on Dec. 12. The Minnesota Wild acquired superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, forward Liam Ohgren, and a 2026 first-round pick.
With the Canucks having a nightmare 2025-26 season, they made it clear to teams that they were open to hearing offers for their players. Hughes was the player generating the most chatter as a trade candidate, as he is a legitimate superstar defenseman. Furthermore, with Hughes’ contract expiring after next season, questions about his future in Vancouver kept coming up.
In the end, instead of running the risk of losing Hughes for nothing during the 2027 NHL off-season, the Canucks opted to trade him to the Wild. Yet, with Hughes being one of the game’s best defensemen, the Wild were not the only team that made major trade offers to acquire him.
In fact, one of the NHL’s most popular teams was among the clubs that were in on Hughes before his deal to the Wild.
Rangers Were Among the Teams That Made Real Offers for Hughes
In a recent column for The Athletic, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported that the New York Rangers were among the clubs that made “legitimate offers” to the Canucks for Hughes.
“The New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers are among those six teams confirmed to have made legitimate offers. The Devils feel they made a strong first offer. I can also confirm that the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes showed interest,” LeBrun wrote.
When looking at the Rangers’ blueline, it is easy to see why they were one of the teams interested in Hughes. While they signed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract this off-season, it is evident that their left side could still use improvement. This is because there is a clear hole on the left side of their top four after they traded blueliner K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes this summer.
If the Rangers had successfully acquired Hughes, he would have significantly improved their blueline. Furthermore, with how great a player Hughes is, he would have had the potential to help the Rangers become true contenders again if acquired.
With Hughes Off the Board, Who Could the Rangers Target Next?
Now that Hughes is no longer a potential option for the Rangers, they will be forced to look elsewhere to improve their roster. While no trade candidate right now is as much of a star as Hughes, the Rangers have some potential options to consider that could still help their top four.
A few notable left-shot defensemen who have been creating chatter in the rumor mill this season include Bowen Byram (Buffalo Sabres), Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks), Mario Ferraro (San Jose Sharks), and Jamie Oleksiak (Seattle Kraken). While none of these players are in Hughes’ elite territory, they would still provide the Rangers’ blueline with a nice boost if acquired.
It will be very interesting to see what the Rangers do from here, but their dream of acquiring Hughes this season can be forgotten.
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