Last Friday, the Vancouver Canucks surprised everyone by trading Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. Well, I guess it’s the Wild who surprised everyone, considering they weren’t even in the conversation regarding potential landing spots for one of the NHL’s best defensemen.

Bill Guerin (GM of the Wild) did a solid job. He had the pieces Vancouver needed, the opportunity became available, and he grabbed a target of opportunity. Some might think the price was a bit steep (defenseman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and a 2026 first-round pick). Still, for one of the league’s best defenseman, it’s going to cost you. Vancouver gets excellent young players (all three were first-round picks) and adds a first-rounder to their own in the upcoming draft.

I can’t say the trade wasn’t necessary for Vancouver. They need to conduct an actual rebuild, young talent is needed, and accumulating first-round picks is what they need. But they wouldn’t be in the position to get rid of one of the best defensemen in franchise history if they handled their current situation better.

For the Wild, they might need an answer for the 2C, but they now have a superstar 1C (Kirill Kaprizov) and a superstar defenseman. Vancouver still has a lot of problems to figure out.

So… how can I tie this into the Blackhawks?

Sure, Chicago definitely has the assets to make a move like this. But Kyle Davidson isn’t going to jump on opportunities like this until he feels like he’s ready to take that next step. But let’s say, what if? I think there are plenty of options on the blueline that could match Buium. The first rounders are there. But if Vancouver wanted a young top-six forward, the Hawks aren’t giving up Frank Nazar (the only player I see as a viable option in this mystical trade hypothesis). Nick Lardis? As much as there’s hype around him, he’s not even a proven NHL player yet.

Considering the free-agency landscape is going to look different in the coming summers (thanks to a fat and chubby salary cap), trades like this are probably going to be the way ahead. There’s a little risk in giving up big assets for a player who can still walk at the end of the contract (Hughes is a free agent in 2027), but you need balls in the NHL.

So, if the time comes. Does Davidson have the balls?