Wild coach John Hynes has been behind the bench for a few brother vs. brother games in the NHL, most recently when Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno meets his older sibling, Nick, of Chicago.

But a three-brother reunion on the ice – like Monday night with Jack and Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils facing Quinn of the Wild for the first time since the latter’s December trade to Minnesota – was new territory.

TAMPA, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 16: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Vancouver Canucks arrives for the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena on November 16, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

“I’ve done two, but not three,” Hynes said on Monday morning as the team had an optional morning skate at TRIA Rink.

We’ve reached the one month point since the Dec. 12 blockbuster that sent three Wild players, and a first round pick, to Vancouver to bring the eldest Hughes brother to Minnesota. For Hynes, the past month has been exciting, and also familiar, as the coach knows all about the challenge of joining a team midseason.

“I’ve come into two teams midseason as a coach, and it’s a lot, when you’re leaving one environment and coming to another environment, and you’re the only new guy,” Hynes said. He took over as the Wild’s coach in November 2023, following the firing of Dean Evason.

For Hughes, spending half of his first month in a Wild sweater on the road may have actually been a benefit as he adjusted to life and hockey in green and red.

“Everyone else has their kind of relationships and it’s the players, it’s the coaches, it’s the style of play, it’s the city, it’s your home life, like everything is in flux,” Hynes said. “So I think when you can come in and then you can get on the road and now it’s just hockey, it’s just the team, there’s more opportunities for guys to hang out together.”

On the ice, the things Hughes is doing are eye-popping, with 16 points in his first 14 games, and an ability to play a puck possession game inside the offensive zone that frustrates opponents.

Off the ice, the other members of the Wild have been quick to embrace Hughes and make sure he feels comfortable and valued on the team.

“He’s fit in pretty seamlessly. Obviously that last road trip being a long one, it was good to get to know him a little bit better,” Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said. “We were sort of trapped together for 14 days there. But obviously he has played for quite some time, so he’s used to the schedule and everything like that.”

Quinn was on the verge of a family reunion a month ago, having traveled with the Canucks to New Jersey when the trade to Minnesota became a reality. His brothers drove Quinn to the airport to meet a private jet that had Wild general manager Bill Guerin onboard for the flight to his new hockey home.

After the marathon road trip was over and the Wild returned to Minnesota, Hughes celebrated his homecoming with a three-assist night in Saturday’s overtime loss to the New York Islanders. And again, after an eye-popping show on the rink, in the locker room he talked of still getting to know teammates and learning what works most effectively playing with the likes of defensive partner Brock Faber and star forward Kirill Kaprizov.

“I think me and Fabes are starting to read off each other really well,” Hughes said.

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