Quinn Hughes may be the one steering the deal, and the Minnesota Wild sound ready to follow his lead.
That’s the read from NHL insider Michael Russo, who said on the latest episode of Fellowship of the Rink that Bill Guerin would likely approve whatever term and salary Hughes puts on the table. Russo didn’t leave much room for suspense.
“Quinn Hughes is gonna write his term and his AAV and Bill Guerin is gonna say yes, there's no negotiation to it, if he wants 3 times 20.8 he's getting it.”
Hughes is headed into the final season of his current contract, which carries a $7.85 million salary cap hit, and his agent, Pat Brisson, has already opened talks with Guerin on a new agreement. An eight-year contract could push Hughes into a new salary tier, and if Minnesota is willing to go to $164 million over eight years, that would work out to a $20.5 million annual average value.
What’s not clear yet is whether the Wild would be just as willing to land at that same $20.5 million AAV on a shorter deal. That leaves Hughes with a real choice: lock in the long-term security or take a shorter path that could give him more flexibility down the road.
For now, though, Hughes doesn’t sound like a player in a hurry.
He showed up to training camp without an extension and said after Minnesota’s first practice Thursday that he isn’t stressing over getting the next contract done before the season starts. Hughes said he doesn’t spend much time mapping out what comes next.
"With planning out my future, I don't do that. I don't really plan out my summer. Just kind of went about it and enjoyed it."
And he made it clear the lack of a deal isn’t weighing on him.
"I don't feel stressed to do something before the season," Hughes said. "And that's not saying that something won't happen, but that's just how it is."
Hughes’ first stretch with Minnesota gave the Wild exactly the kind of impact teams dream about. After arriving in a midseason trade from the Vancouver Canucks, he put up 53 points in 48 games and set a franchise record for points by a Wild defenseman. He then helped the U.S. win Olympic gold in Italy before playing a role in Minnesota’s first-round win over the Dallas Stars, the club’s first playoff series victory in 11 years.
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