Vancouver Canucks fans know all about giving Quinn Hughes all the minutes, and it looks like the Minnesota Wild have received that memo.
After Quinn Hughes was traded to Minnesota, many pundits were claiming that the Wild had the best defence in the NHL.
If that’s the case, theoretically, he shouldn’t have to play 30 minutes per night.
Well, not so fast.
On Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, not only did Hughes play more than 30 minutes, but he also set a new career high for ice time in a regular-season game.
The 26-year-old skated a total of 32:02 in Minnesota’s 5-2 victory over Columbus. His partner, Brock Faber, skated for 30:57.
Not only was that a new career-high for him, but it was also the most minutes skated by any NHLer in a non-overtime game this season.
Hughes’ previous career high for ice time in a regular-season game was 31:38, which he posted back on March 24, 2025, during a 4-3 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils.
Of course, that game required Hughes to play over three minutes of overtime to set that previous career-high.
A couple of injuries to Wild blueliners have led head coach Jon Hynes to boost Hughes’ ice time of late.
Zach Bogosian suffered a lower-body injury during Hughes’ debut. That prompted Hynes to boost Hughes’ ice time from 26:55 in his debut to 29:33 the following night.
Keep in mind, both of those games were convincing Minnesota wins. Hughes typically played 29+ minutes in the (many) games where Vancouver was trailing.
After Bogosian, defenceman Daemon Hunt exited with an injury in the second Wild game for the former Canucks captain.
Regular defencemen Jonas Brodin and Jake Middleton are also on the shelf. Both players suffered injuries just days before Hughes joined Minnesota.
Injuries on the blueline are something that Hughes is no stranger to from his time in Vancouver. However, despite amping up his minutes with Vancouver due to injuries or increased usage situations where the team was trailing, he still never hit the 32-minute mark in a single game while wearing a Canucks sweater.
