Why Detroit Red Wings missed out on a possible Quinn Hughes blockbuster trade

Back in December, the Vancouver Canucks made one of the most dramatic moves in franchise history by trading captain and star defenceman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.

The return was enormous: top defence prospect Zeev Buium, centre Marco Rossi, winger Liam Öhgren and a 2026 first-round pick — a package widely viewed as the equivalent of four first-round assets.

Hughes’ availability sparked serious interest across the league, with at least six NHL teams reportedly making strong pushes, including the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils. As it turns out, Detroit may have been one of Hughes’ preferred landing spots.

On a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed why a deal between Vancouver and Detroit never materialised. According to Friedman, the breakdown came down to a firm stance taken by Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman.

“We talked about it with Quinn Hughes — he wanted to go to the Red Wings, they were one of the teams he was very interested in,” Friedman explained. “But Yzerman wasn’t doing that without an extension.”

That requirement ultimately proved to be the deal-breaker.

While the details of Detroit’s proposed trade package were never made public, it’s reasonable to believe it would have matched — or potentially exceeded — what Vancouver eventually received from Minnesota. Given the magnitude of the asking price, Yzerman’s insistence on securing a long-term contract extension before surrendering elite assets is understandable.

The revelation has since divided the Red Wings fanbase. Some supporters praise Yzerman for protecting the organisation’s future and refusing to take on massive risk without contractual certainty.

Others are left questioning whether Detroit passed on a rare opportunity to instantly elevate their blue line with one of the NHL’s premier defencemen.

What is now clear, however, is that Detroit didn’t miss out on Quinn Hughes by chance. The Red Wings walked away, fully aware of the consequences, and Yzerman was prepared to stand by that decision.