This past Friday, the NHL made some bold moves when both Quinn Hughes and Tristan Jarry made the move to Minnesota and Edmonton, respectively. While both players had obvious contributions to their teams, it's the Spring which all coaches are keeping their eyes on.
This is the time to make strong moves and strengthen the existing holes to ensure a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. As Boston struggles to balance out their rotating team injuries, stronger opponents have the capability of interfering with the black-and-gold's chances as well. Time to take a closer look at the new additions.
Quinn Hughes to Minnesota Wild
Minnesota's General Manager, Bill Guerin, did Vancouver a solid on Friday by trading Hughes for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first-round draft pick in 2026. It is rumored the Canucks are trying to focus on strengthening a younger team, while the Wild is eyeing the Cup. Hughes brings his strong defensive presence to the line-up tonight against the B's on the first D-line, alongside Brock Faber.
"I don’t know what the right moment is, but if you wait for it, you’re gonna miss it...when it’s a player of this caliber, the right time’s always now.”"Bill Guerin
Hughes is an asset to the Wild, as he has been averaging his time on ice at about 27 minutes a game, allowing his skills to earn him 21 assists with 2 goals so far this season. Pairing Hughes with Faber will be explosive, as Faber has been on an upward trajectory since signing with the Wild and producing a breakout rookie season. Farber has more goals and fewer assists than does Hughes, so they can feed off of each other, becoming a strong D-line the B's will face Sunday evening in Minnesota.
The Wild has not made it past the first round in the past 10 years. Guerin remains optimistic this may be their year to advance, and is already banking on it being as result of this trade. "We respect our opponents, but we want to do our own thing, too. We want to compete for the Stanley Cup," Guerin reported.
Tristan Jarry to Edmonton Oilers
Things also seem to be looking up for Tristan Jarry, who left the Penguins after a lackluster season last year where he averaged a .885% save percentage going 8-5-2 with the birds in Pittsburgh. The Oilers took a 6-3 win at Jarry's first game on Saturday, the icing on the cake for new netminder. Tristan stopped 25 of the Leafs' 28 shots, immediately building his confidence and raising his save percentage up to .909 after game one with Edmonton.
"It's special...obviously, standing on the other side of it for a lot of years, you kind of know what to expect, but I think being on the right side of it, you appreciate it a lot."Tristan Jarry
Jarry impressed with his Saturday night debut, and he has already felt appreciation for sharing the ice with rising greats like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Has Jarry bounced back enough post-trade to keep his higher save percentage, or will Boston's strong offensive lines pressure him too much to keep up with the B's? Bruins fans will have those answers soon enough, after Boston and Edmonton meet up in a Thursday evening match.
In spite of injuries which kicked off this season for Boston, and continue to do so, the Bruins have risen above those obstacles and have made a noticeable turn around under newly acquired head coach Marco Sturm. The comfortable pairing of explosive D-line Zadorov and Aspirot has been everything the team has been needing, but tonight Zadorov is scheduled to slide up to the first line to play alongside Charlie McAvoy.
Alex Steeves has stolen the ice recently with his unstoppable addition to the team, and has been able to read his teammates on any line. Geekie is atop of the NHL leaderboards battling McDavid with the highest number of goals so far this season. With Sturm and his assistant coaches bringing out the best in the black-and-gold, trades on other teams are welcomed. Time to watch the B's continue to rise to the challenge.