One of the bigger storylines this offseason surrounds Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes.
Everyone is reading the tea leaves in many different directions because of comments made, not only by the general manager, but also by the owner. Especially owner Craig Leipold, who stated the Wild were going to re-sign Quinn Hughes. It has gone from there being close to a deal to being very optimistic, and now to nothing new to report.
NHL Rumors: When Will Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar Sign New Contracts?
However, this is a similar situation to what the Wild faced last season with Kirill Kaprizov. Remember, Kaprizov was eligible for an extension on July 1, 2025 and didn’t sign his record-breaking extension until September 30, 2025.
As with Kaprizov last year, Hughes is entering the final year of his contract that carries a salary cap hit of $7.85 million, with a base salary of $8.25 million. Quinn Hughes said he is open to re-signing at the end of the season. He is expected to break the bank on the next extension whenever it comes. It could happen in training camp like Kaprizov’s did. This is a negotiation after all.
Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin joined Judd’s Hockey Show with Judd Zulgad and AJ Fredrickson and was asked about the ongoing contract negotiations with defenseman Quinn Hughes and where things stand.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Judd Zulgad: “So let’s clean out what we can from the news first; there was a report. I think it was in The Athletic.”
Bill Guerin: “What news?”
Minnesota Wild, Quinn Hughes, and the Center Position
Zulgad: “Yeah, what’s going on?”
Guerin: “I’ve been away.”
Zulgad: Well, I hope not too far because somebody’s talking to somebody, and I’m assuming it’s you. There was a report in The Athletic. I think it was a week ago now that you had met with the, well, it sounds like the Quinn Hughes camp in Michigan. Can you confirm that?
And can you tell us whether you are still confident that a deal gets done there? And I know, I’ll preface it by saying this: we went through the same thing with (Kirill) Kaprizov a year ago, and people were panicked. So I’m just asking for an update, if possible. I just want to make it very clear. I am not panicked that Quinn Hughes is about to demand a trade.”
Guerin: “Yeah, I’m not going to get too far into it, but I’ve been talking to Quinn and his camp all along. It’s like I said last year with Kirill, these things take time. They’re big decisions for players. They’re big decisions for teams. So it’s a process to work through it, and this is no different than any other big contract negotiation.”
Quinn Hughes is Open to Extending with the Minnesota Wild
It’s clear Guerin has learned to negotiate in public after saying he would give Kaprizov whatever he wanted last summer, leveraging all his power. This year he is playing it close to the vest. Guerin knows what Quinn Hughes is looking for but doesn’t want to say it out loud.
Again, what people do with these words is their business. But there will be some on the outside who think that because the calendar flipped to August, with no new extension in place, in light of these comments made by Guerin, Quinn Hughes has changed his mind about signing with the Wild. That it is no longer a when situation but an IF situation now.
This negotiation is closely tied to the one happening in Colorado between the Avalanche and Cale Makar. Both guys are looking to be the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL. Early on, the prediction from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was a three-year deal for Quinn Hughes with an AAV of $18 million.
Given that Leo Carlsson‘s AAV is $18 million with the Anaheim Ducks and Macklin Celebrini‘s new AAV with the San Jose Sharks is $18.8 million, there is a good chance Quinn Hughes gets someone in that range too. It will be under the eligible 20 percent of the cap he is allowed to earn.
Could Quinn Hughes Eventually Sign an Extension with the Minnesota Wild?
The fact that Guerin and the Hughes camp are talking is a good sign. There would be red flags going up if they weren’t talking. The goal for the team is a five-to-eight deal. Remember, the last day the player could potentially sign an eight-year deal with his current club is September 15th before it flips to a seven-year deal.
Quinn Hughes is looking for a three-year deal to line up with his brother Jack Hughes‘s potential free agency in 2030. We know the brothers would like to play together at some point. They did at the Olympics and could do so at the NHL level as well.
This is an interesting situation to see play out throughout the summer and into training camp.
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