When the Vancouver Canucks traded Quinn Hughes last season, the return naturally raised plenty of questions among fans and pundits.
It was natural to question whether a 20-year-old defenseman could end up taking the place of the team’s best blueliner ever.
And it seems everyone knows the answer now.
Vancouver’s massive extension for Zeev Buium has made it clear that the organization is committed to the rising star as its franchise defenseman. And it has also made the Quinn Hughes trade look very different.
Had Buium flopped in his first season in Vancouver, an outcry would have risen amid the poor return the Canucks got for Hughes.
Instead, the narrative has a chance to become radically different. Yes, the Canucks surrendered their captain and franchise player. But they also landed one of the best young blueliners in the league. That, plus the other pieces in the Quinn Hughes trade, has now transformed the conversation from one of displeasure to one of optimism.
Buium has that ability. He has the chance to transform the Canucks from a rebuild, cellar-dwelling team, to one that actually has an opportunity to turn things around much sooner than anticipated.
At least, that’s the hope.
Quinn Hughes Trade Could Have Been a Disaster
The Quinn Hughes trade could have gone horribly wrong for the Vancouver Canucks.
The organization was moving its franchise defenseman and could easily have prioritized draft picks and long-term prospects over players who could actually help the team in the near future.
Instead, Vancouver got Zeev Buium.
Buium arrived as a 20-year-old with very little NHL experience, but he immediately showed that he belonged. That gave the Canucks something they desperately needed: a young defenseman who could step into the lineup and become an important part of the rebuild right away.
Now, after signing Buium to an eight-year, $75.04 million extension, Vancouver is betting that he can eventually become its No. 1 defenseman.
The other pieces from the Quinn Hughes trade matter, too.
Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren still have plenty of time to establish themselves as important NHL players. If they develop as expected, Vancouver could eventually look back at the deal and realize it acquired three legitimate building blocks for one superstar.
That’s a much better outcome than it initially appeared.
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Canucks Were Right to Move On When They Did
There was another benefit to trading Quinn Hughes when Vancouver did.
The Canucks avoided a potentially enormous distraction.
Once it became clear that Hughes’ future in Vancouver was uncertain, the organization had a decision to make. It could allow the situation to drag on, potentially consuming the team for months, or it could finally move on and begin rebuilding around a new core.
Vancouver chose the latter.
That doesn’t mean trading Quinn Hughes was easy. He was the team’s captain, best defenseman and arguably the greatest blueliner in franchise history.
But if the organization believed the relationship was eventually going to end with a trade anyway, prolonging the inevitable made little sense.
The Canucks now have clarity.
They know Buium is part of their future. Rossi and Öhgren can develop without constantly being compared to the player they were acquired for. And the organization can finally build without the Quinn Hughes saga hanging over everything.
Sometimes the hardest move is also the healthiest one.
Quinn Hughes Trade Looks Very Different After Buium Extension