Quinn Hughes blockbuster trade brings unexpected good news for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens

I would be very surprised, but just in case you weren't aware, a blockbuster trade was announced Friday night in the National Hockey League.

The Canucks traded their captain Quinn Hughes to the Wild for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 1st-round pick.

And in this trade, there is indeed some excellent news for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens.

This could change a lot of things for the Habs. As several sources have reported, it's not complicated: every time the Habs tried to acquire a center, the Canucks were right there competing with them.

Kent Hughes was interested in Ryan O'Reilly? The Canucks were ready to offer more and overpay.

Kent Hughes was interested in Nazem Kadri? The Canucks were ready to offer more and overpay.

Kent Hughes was interested in Phillip Danault? The Canucks were ready to offer more and overpay.

Kent Hughes was interested in Mason McTavish? The Canucks were ready to offer more and overpay.

You get the idea, but it was really a problem for the Montreal Canadiens to have a team like the Canucks, who were willing to do anything (or almost anything) to acquire a center.

Now they have him in Marco Rossi, their long-sought center. And that should really make things easier for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens if they eventually want to do the same.

Bottom line, with Vancouver finally solving its center problem, Kent Hughes loses a major rival in that market. That alone could make the Canadiens' next move down the middle far easier-and far less expensive.