Quinn Hughes is the most talented defenceman to ever throw on a Minnesota Wild jersey, and the team treated him as such.
Michael Russo and Anthony LaPanta from the Worst Seats in the House Podcast revealed earlier this week exactly how the Wild welcomed Hughes to their organization.
At the time of the trade, Hughes was in New Jersey with the Vancouver Canucks on the road. As he learned that the trade was nearing completion, he left the team to go be with his brothers, whom he hadn’t seen since the NHL season started.
According to Russo and LaPanta, the Wild sent a Cadillac Escalade to Jack Hughes’ house following the trade to pick Quinn up before ushering him back to Minnesota on the team’s private jet.
Once he got on the plane, the Wild apparently had his favourite meal waiting for him.
In Minnesota, they put him up in an unnamed hotel that cost a “pretty penny,” according to LaPanta. At the hotel, they had a table full of his favourite food waiting for him.
The first-class treatment didn’t end there, as the team had a bunch of Wild jerseys on his bed at the hotel to give to his family. They also gave him a brand new BMW to drive around while he finds his own car in the city.
It looks like the Wild have already started their recruiting mission to keep Hughes in Minnesota long-term, beyond the end of his current deal in the summer of 2027.
Despite the royal treatment, no one from the Wild remembered to make sure Hughes’ equipment ended up on the flight to Minnesota. His equipment was left in his brother’s car and was flown to Minnesota the next day, making it just in time for Hughes’ debut with the team.
Aside from the one snafu, Hughes’ royal treatment was a classy move from Minnesota.
Meanwhile, in Vancouver, a report from Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston surfaced recently that the Canucks did not meet the NHL’s minimum requirement for members on their staff with athletic therapist certification.
Quite a juxtaposition between the two franchises who seem to be heading in opposite directions.
So far through six games in Minnesota, Hughes has a goal and three assists. The Wild have gone 4-1-1 since Hughes’ arrival.
