NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 13, 2025
The Canucks trade Quinn Hughes to the Wild, Blackhawks center Connor Bedard is injured against the Blues, Lightning captain Victor Hedman is sidelined until February, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
CANUCKS SHIP QUINN HUGHES TO THE WILD IN A BLOCKBUSTER TRADE
NHL.COM: The Vancouver Canucks traded defenseman Quinn Hughes on Friday to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for center Marco Rossi, left wing Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The retooling of the Canucks roster is underway. Management reportedly knew for some time that Hughes wouldn’t sign a contract extension next summer.
Vancouver Canucks trade Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild (NHL Images).
The fault lies not with Hughes, one of the greatest players in Canucks history, but on a front office that failed to build a stable, winning roster around him. This move seemed inevitable following the drama between centers Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, resulting in the latter’s trade to the New York Rangers in January.
The Canucks didn’t get full value from the Wild in this return, but no team ever does when they trade a superstar. What they got was three players who could have a positive long-term effect on their roster.
Rossi will fill the second-line center position and has the skills to become a reliable two-way forward. Ohgren and Buium are promising youngsters who could blossom into stars. They also get an unprotected first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, which they can keep for themselves or use as a trade chip to add another NHL-ready player to their roster.
Meanwhile, there’s no question that Minnesota is the immediate winner of this trade. General manager Bill Guerin has signaled his intent to turn the Wild into a Stanley Cup contender.
Hughes is a superstar, a Norris Trophy winner who brings a high level of skill to the Wild’s already deep defense core. He’ll also provide a significant measure of offense from the blueline, especially on the power play. His playmaking talent should mesh well with scoring stars Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy.
Guerin also hopes that Hughes will agree to a contract extension before his eligibility for unrestricted free agent status on July 1, 2027. The earliest he can sign it is next July, when the Wild would have an opportunity to sign him an eight-year, front-loaded, bonus-laden deal before the rules change for those types of contracts on Sept. 15, 2026.
At the very worst, the Wild have Hughes for two playoff runs. If he helps turn them into a Stanley Cup champion, or at least a Cup Finalist, they will consider it a worthwhile investment.
RECAPPING FRIDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: The Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-2 to the St. Louis Blues, and they also lost franchise star Connor Bedard in the final second of the game.
Bedard injured his right shoulder after being checked by Blues captain Brayden Schenn off the faceoff in what Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill called “a freak accident”. Bedard left the ice immediately, gripping his shoulder in obvious pain.
Before the injury, Bedard assisted on both Blackhawks’ goals. He won’t play in Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, and an update on his condition is expected on Monday. Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux scored his first of the season, and Robert Thomas set up two goals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bedard is tied for third in league scoring (44 points) with San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini. His performance this season is the biggest reason why the rebuilding Blackhawks are jockeying for a wild-card berth in the Western Conference. A lengthy absence could send them into a tailspin. It could also jeopardize Bedard’s chances of playing for Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Utah Mammoth picked up their third win in their last 10 games by downing the Seattle Kraken 5-3. Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists for the Mammoth as they snapped a three-game losing skid. Mason Marchment scored twice for the Kraken, who’ve lost seven of their last eight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kraken played without winger Jared McCann, who is sidelined for three weeks with a lower-body injury. He’s only appeared in 11 of his club’s 29 games this season.
IN OTHER NEWS…
DAILY FACEOFF: Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman will undergo a procedure on his elbow that will sideline him until early February. The 34-year-old defenseman missed 12 games with the injury, returning to action last Saturday.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hedman is expected to be ready when the 2026 Winter Olympics begin in February. He will be playing for Sweden.
SPORTSNET: New York Islanders center Bo Horvat is expected to miss one to three weeks with a lower-body injury suffered during Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
DAILY FACEOFF: Speaking of the Ducks, they activated goaltender Lukas Dostal off injured reserve on Friday.
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: Jets winger Nino Niederreiter will become the first Switzerland-born player to appear in 1,000 NHL regular-season games when his club faces the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: Devils forward Arseny Gritsyuk will be sidelined this weekend with an upper-body injury.
TSN: The Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Matt Dumba on waivers Friday. The move is a result of their acquisition of blueliner Brett Kulak as part of the return in yesterday’s trade that sent goaltender Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers for netminder Stuart Skinner.
THE TENNESSEAN: The Nashville Predators traded defenseman Spencer Stastney to the Oilers in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers added Stastney to fill the gap left by Kulak’s departure to Pittsburgh.
THE MERCURY NEWS: Sharks rookie center Michael Misa is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. It’s the second time he’s been sidelined in just over a month. He will miss the start of Canada’s training camp for the upcoming 2026 World Junior Championship.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Carolina Hurricanes signed rookie defenseman Joel Nystrom to a four-year, $4.9 million contract extension.
Hughes Faber
Brodin Spurgeon
Middleton Bogosian
thats a very nice D when healthy
When I heard Hughes was traded to Wild I expected Faber to be part of deal. Wild fans you are going to love watcbing him breaking guys ankles as he skates around them like they are pylons
100%
Good trade for both teams. Guerin has the guts to make a monumental deal.Still feel Vancouver did well when all is said and done.Good young D,one of the better offensive second line centers in the NHL Ohgren a no.1 pick and a 1st round pick in this years draft.All told 4 first round picks!Maybe this will precipitate trades in the league.Bottom line,Vancouver was not a playoff team with one of the top players in the game.Time was running out for a trade.
Tale of the tape from that Hughes deal:
In terms of the cap, Vancouver picks up close to $1 mil ($996,667 to be exact).
As for production, the 5’ 10 180lbs Hughes has 2g 21a 23 pts in 26gp with a minus 10. Look for all that to start improving in the loaded Wild roster. Barring a new deal, they have his $7,850,000 per cap hit for this season and next after which he becomes a UFA.
The trio joining Vancouver come in with 7g 20a 27pts.
The 5’ 9” 24 y/o left-shot C Rossi has 4g 9a 13pts in 17gp and is a minus 6. He costs $5 mil per off the cap to 2027-28 and is an RFA leading into 2028-29.
The 6’ 190lbs LW Ohgren, who turns 22 in January and was a 1st Round pick 19th overall in 2022, has zero points in 18gp with a minus 3. He costs $886,666 per off the cap for this season and next before becoming an RFA.
The 6’ 185lbs LD Zeev Buium, who just turned 20 on December 7 and was a 1st Round pick 12th overall in 2024, has 3g 11a 14pts in 31gp with a minus 9. He cost $966,667 off the cap for this season and next before becoming an RFA.
When it comes to the 1st Round pick in 2026, if the season ended now Minnesota would be picking around 26th. That could – and likely will – drop even lower as the Wild move up higher in he standings. Small wonder they had no issues with making the pick unprotected.
Nice detailed post ✌️
Does the Wild picking up Hughes cause any of the central teams to add?
What does it do to Ramus Andersson value and trade talk?
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Stars acquired Andersson to make him their second-pairing right-side defenseman.
David, none among Utah, Chicago, St. Louis, Winnipeg or Nashville will be galvanized to do something as a result. They had little or no hope of catching the top 3 before the deal.
Colorado, way out in front with 51 pts – and 7-1-2 in their past 10 – probably don’t need to be overly concerned.
Dallas on the other h and, a solid 2nd with 47 pts – and 8-1-1 in their past 10 – may feel they need to make some sort of countering move given their crippling injury list.
Agree. And Hintz injury didnt look great.Stars will make a move or 2. With Sequin cap space they can take on an expiring vet…
Top 3 teams in one division? Could of easily been 4 if Helly was healthy….
“The Canucks didn’t get full value from the Wild in this return”
Question: What would “full value” be. 2 First round picks and 3 former first round picks? 6 pieces?
Also difficult when trading with a contending team, since they aren’t going to gut their current roster to trade current pieces and risk their contention window.
Full value would be superstar for superstar, hence the next line (which you omitted): “but no team ever does when they trade a superstar.”