“This is just a better team,” Hughes said Monday. “Watching Vancouver, I love a lot of those guys, and it’s competitive guys over there who want to do well. It’s tough sometimes, and I’m sure it’s not where they want to be and where I wanted it to be when I was there.”
The Wild acquired Hughes from the Canucks in December, and going from a last-place team to the sixth-best team in the NHL was understandably a big jump.
Hughes admitted that after spending the first seven seasons of his career in Vancouver, it was a transition to join a new franchise.
“Well, it’s just you don’t know anyone, like if you have a new job,” Hughes said. “If you’re working for a company for seven years and then you go to a new company, you don’t know anyone, that’s gonna be a change for you, I bet.”
However, the Wild roster has made the move a lot easier for the former Canucks captain.
“Just how special the group is here and how easy they’ve made it for me,” Hughes said. “The hockey’s been so fun. I said to someone a couple of days ago, I’m getting so many Grade A chances every night, getting looks all the time, and it’s fun to play with these guys, fun to play with Brock (Faber), and I think as this continues to be able to get better and better.”
Since joining the Wild, Hughes has accumulated two goals and 16 assists while being a plus-five through 17 games. Minnesota has also won nine of those 17 contests.
Meanwhile, the Canucks are currently in the midst of a 10-game losing streak. Hughes said he hasn’t really thought about what happened in Vancouver, but it will hit him eventually.
“I’m trying to turn a page and use all my energy and focus towards everything I need to be doing here,” Hughes said. “But obviously from time to time you think about it, and I’m sure at the end of the year reflect on everything that’s happened.”
Hughes and the Wild take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
