Quinn Hughes booed in Vancouver return with Wild

Canucks fans had more than 10 months to decide how to greet the guy who told them he wasn't re-signing. They didn't waste a second of it.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

The boo birds come down instantly as Quinn Hughes hits the ice in Vancouver

Then it got louder. According to Daily Faceoff, 'Quinn Hughes sucks' chants started as soon as the Wild defenseman hit the ice, and the crowd moved on to 'Quitter' later in the night. That last one is the whole grudge in 1 word. The trade happened because Hughes let Canucks management know he didn't plan to sign an extension on his current deal, so Vancouver moved its captain to Minnesota on December 13, 2025 instead of watching him walk.

And Vancouver didn't lose some depth defenseman. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 with 92 points, was a Norris finalist again in 2024-25 with 76, and left with 432 points in 459 games, the most by a defenseman in franchise history. The return was Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 1st-round pick. That's a real haul. It's still not the best defenseman the franchise ever had.

Then the fans did the classy thing. About 7 minutes into the game the Canucks played a tribute video, and the reaction was split, with cheers mixed in with the boos.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

Boo birds and cheer birds unite for Quinn Hughes tribute video

Honestly, that's the right way to do it. Clap for the career, then go right back to letting him hear it. The hockey media watching agreed.

Mark Lazerus

@MarkLazerus

Cheering after the video, destroying the guy the rest of the game. That's how you do it. Good job, Vancouver.

Hughes also showed up 1 point away from 500 for his career, and he nearly got it in the building that was booing him. He made the play on Minnesota's power-play goal by getting the puck past a penalty killer to Boldy, but Shabanov's goal went down without a Hughes point on it.

Michael Russo

@RussoHockey

No 500th point there for Hughes on the Shabanov PPG, but great play to evade the penalty killer to get puck to Boldy. First power-play goal of the trip for Minnesota.

So No. 500 is still coming, and the drama doesn't stop when the Wild leave town. Hughes is in the last year of his 6-year, $47.1 million deal and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Wild owner Craig Leipold has said Minnesota will re-sign him, and Hughes has said his feet are 'planted' there and something could happen soon. If he signs in Minnesota, Canucks fans can at least say he left for somewhere he actually wanted to stay. That won't make the next trip back any quieter.