Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin says the contract conversation with Quinn Hughes has gone cold for now.
Speaking Wednesday on News Talk 830 WCCO, Guerin said he hasn’t talked about an extension with the star defenseman and his agent “in a long time.” He made clear there isn’t much movement at the moment.
"To be honest with you, there's nothing really to talk about right now," Guerin added. "What am I gonna do? Go, 'Please, please, please, please?'
Guerin described the situation as unusual and said Hughes needs time to sort through a few things on his end. He also stressed that his attention is on the Wild, not on forcing a deal.
"This is a unique situation. I think Quinn needs to wrap his head around a couple things, and I don't think anything's changed.
And I'm being honest with you. Right now, I'm focused on our team.
I'm focused on our team and winning games. Quinn's situation will resolve itself at some point in time.
This does not keep me awake at night. Yes, I do think about it, but it's not something that I'm gonna let affect anything else I do.
He's gonna take his time with it, and that's it."
Hughes has been a major contributor since arriving in Minnesota, where he ranks second among NHL defensemen in scoring with 18 points in 14 games. The 27-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
The Wild landed Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in December, sending Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a first-round pick the other way.
Guerin said he likes what he’s seen from Hughes on the ice, but he still hasn’t settled on how he’d handle the situation if Hughes remains unsigned as the season goes on.
"At some point in time, I'll have to try to figure things out and see what's best for the team," Guerin said. "But I know one thing's for sure: having Quinn on our team is what's best for the team.
I don't know. I'll be completely honest with you, I don't know.
I don't know what's gonna happen. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
There's no date. What we're doing right now is focusing on our team and trying to win hockey games.
That's really it. I think some people wanna make this more complicated than it really is, being the media.
And it's not that complicated."
Hughes’ family ties also add another layer to his story. His younger brothers, Jack and Luke, are both with the New Jersey Devils, and Quinn and Jack captured Olympic gold with Team USA in February.
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