ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Bill Guerin was wrist deep in a bowl of meatballs when he completed one of the biggest trades in Minnesota Wild history.
The Wild general manager found out Friday night that Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford had agreed to trade former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Quinn Hughes to Minnesota for three young players and a future No. 1 draft pick.
“I was making meatballs for our Christmas Eve dinner when Jim called,” Guerin told reporters on Saturday. “I had to take my latex gloves off. I was rolling meatballs and he told me we have a deal. There was a fist pump involved.”
The move is the clearest indication that Guerin and Wild are going all in this season as they seek their first Stanley Cup in the team’s 25-year history.
“I’ve always said that I believe in our players, I believe in this team, I believe in what we’re doing here,” said Guerin, who gave up defenseman Zeev Buium and forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren — three former No. 1 draft picks, all under 25 years old — to acquire Hughes.
“We have an extremely competitive division,” Guerin added. “You’re going through the meat grinder here. We respect our opponents, but we want to do our own thing, too. We want to compete for the Stanley Cup.”
Hughes will make his Wild debut on Sunday against Boston.
The 26-year-old served as the Canucks’ captain the past 2 1/2 seasons. He won the Norris Trophy, given to the NHL’s top defenseman, in 2023-24 when he led all defensemen with 92 points. The smooth-skating playmaker was available because the struggling Canucks are last in the league with just 25 points this season and were looking for a talent infusion to change their trajectory.
Hughes is signed through the 2026-27 season and there’s been speculation he would like to play in New Jersey, where his two younger brothers are part of the Devils’ roster.
However, Guerin is also Team USA’s general manager and has gotten to know Hughes through last year’s Four Nations Cup and preparations for the Milan Cortina Olympics. He thinks the atmosphere and culture in Minnesota, which is known as the “State of Hockey,” will help win Hughes over.
“He just loves hockey. And I think there’s no better market than Minnesota to be a hockey player. I believe in our team and our culture and our organization and our market, our fans,” Guerin said. “Hockey’s in the fabric here, and I think he’ll really like it.”
Guerin indicated that he’s confident Hughes’ contract situation will take care of itself when the time comes. Until then, he’s looking forward to seeing how his newest acquisition blends in with the Wild.
As for those meatballs, he leaves that to the expert in the family.
“They’re really good,” Guerin said. “It’s my wife’s recipe. I’m just doing the grunt work.”
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