The Detroit Red Wings Missed Out on Acquiring Quinn Hughes and That’s Okay

Quinn Hughes would have been a dream blueline-mate to pair alongside Moritz Seider. Seider has been paired with Simon Edvinsson for much of the 2025-26 season. These two have been one of the top-performing pairs of defensemen in the NHL thus far this season. Both Seider and Edvinsson have combined to have 133 blocked shots between them in roughly 30 games. Seider was on to something when he said that he and Edvinsson would be a cool pair for the Red Wings.

Hughes has put up a staggering number of points in his young NHL career. In 460 games in his career, Hughes has scored 62 goals and added 371 assists. The 76 points that Hughes put up during the 2022-23 season and 2024-25 seasons would be the seventh-most points in the Minnesota Wild’s franchise history. The 433 points make him an almost point-per-game player at the defensive position. Hughes ranks behind Kale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche with 0.94 points per game before the trade.

Cost to Acquire Quinn Hughes was Too High

What would it have taken for the Red Wings to be able to complete this trade? The start of the trade would have been Edvinsson, defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, two of Detroit’s premium prospects, and a first-round draft pick. This is too much of a haul for a player who has not yet guaranteed that he is going to sign a contract extension with the Wild. The Wild risks losing Hughes, who signed a six-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021, after just one year with the team, but if they win the Stanley Cup, it will certainly be worth it. The continued speculation is that Hughes will sign with the New Jersey Devils to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke.

The Red Wings’ 25-year Stanley Cup playoffs streak was built on the back of the team giving up draft picks to acquire talent at the NHL’s trade deadline. Four times during this streak, the Red Wings accomplished the goal, winning the Stanley Cup. This ultimately hurt the Red Wings as they have not made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season. Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman may have had this in mind when deciding not to acquire Hughes.