The Quinn Hughes situation in Minnesota keeps getting harder to ignore.
The Wild are still working toward a deal with the superstar defenseman, who is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible to sign an extension. From now until September 15th, he can sign for as many as eight years before the new CBA trims that maximum to seven. But that longer term is not expected to be part of the discussion, with Wild owner Craig Leipold saying he is looking for a three-year deal.
For months, there has been little public movement. Hughes has spent his offseason with his brothers in New Jersey, Florida, and Michigan, and he has also been seen skating with other NHL players, including Wild target Dylan Larkin. Even so, the feeling around the Wild side is that a deal will eventually get done.
Still, the market around him keeps shifting, and not in Minnesota’s favor.
The Leo Carlsson contract pushed max deals higher, even though Carlsson is not on Hughes’ level as a player. Then Cale Makar signed for eight years with a cap hit of $20.4 million per season, and that was the real line in the sand.
The old fallback that there was no urgency until Makar signed is gone now. With that deal finished, the spotlight has landed squarely on Bill Guerin.
And now there’s another eight-year contract adding to the pressure.
On Friday evening, the Vancouver Canucks announced that defenseman Zeev Buium - the centerpiece of the Quinn Hughes return - had signed an eight-year extension worth $75 million. Buium was inconsistent with the Canucks, but he also flashed the kind of upside that has people expecting him to become one of the better players at his position. He is just 20 years old.
That deal matters because it is tied directly to Guerin’s side of the equation. The Canucks now have Buium under contract for the next nine seasons.
Minnesota, meanwhile, still does not know for sure whether Hughes will be on the roster when the season opens. The expectation is that he will be, but if talks go badly, the uncertainty is real.
The Buium contract is expensive, but it still comes in at more than half of what Hughes is expected to command - and Buium is locked up for nearly a decade. That gives Vancouver time to build around its young talent.
Minnesota doesn’t have that kind of runway. The Wild are built to win now, and Hughes is their best shot at doing it.
If they eventually accept a package even close to what they gave up to get him, it will mostly be futures. That would leave an already top-heavy roster leaning even harder on its stars in the Central Division.
So while the negotiations may be going smoothly behind the scenes, the pressure is obvious. The longer this drags on, the more the noise grows around it.
And if Hughes ever becomes available, Devils fans - and, hopefully, Sunny Mehta - will be waiting.
In Other News...
Devils Are Betting On Overlooked Talent To Deliver This Season
Sunny Mehtas offseason approach in New Jersey has a familiar feel for anyone who watched his work with the Panthers. The Devils are leaning into a talent-identification model that values players other teams may have overlooked, betting that the right environment can turn promising pieces into much more. Thats how names like Amadeus Lombardi, Declan Chisholm and Luke Evangelista have entered the conversation, with each beginning to show signs that they can become more than depth options at the pro level.
The more interesting part for the Devils is how that same logic applies to the roster already in place. Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, Arseny Gritsyuk and Luke Hughes all have the kind of upside that could reshape the teams ceiling if the next step arrives this season, while offseason addition Anthony Mantha is expected to build on the scoring touch he showed recently. For New Jersey, the gamble is clear: if enough of these players move from potential to production, the payoff could be a much deeper, more dangerous lineup than the one that finished last spring. [Read more 🡒]
Dawson Mercer Faces A Bigger Devils Season Than Fans Realize
Dawson Mercers 2025-26 season was the kind that quietly matters a lot in New Jersey: he stayed in the lineup every night, posted 42 points with 20 goals and 22 assists, and handled 18:14 of ice time while helping the Devils get through the grind of a full schedule. For a player still only heading into the next stage of his career, that was the sort of all-around year that reinforces why the organization has leaned on him so heavily.
Now Mercer heads into the final year of his contract with a different kind of pressure. He is expected to slide into a bottom-six role as new addition Luke Evangelista pushes into the top six, which means Mercer will have to keep producing while adjusting to a smaller offensive lane. At the same time, he is chasing career markers like 500 NHL games and extending an ironman streak that has become part of his value, making this season about more than just where he fits in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Anton Silayev May Be Ready Before The Devils Have Room
Anton Silayevs path to New Jersey is shaping up to be a patient one, even if the 20-year-old defenseman has already given the Devils plenty to like since going 10th overall in the draft. For now, the expectation is that hell spend the coming season developing with the Utica Comets, where he can get reps and adjust to the pro game without the pressure of forcing his way into an NHL lineup.
The challenge, of course, is that the Devils already have three established left-side defensemen in place, which leaves little obvious room for Silayev to jump straight in. Injuries could always change the equation, and the organization will keep an eye on how quickly he adapts, but the more likely route is a season of growth in the AHL before he starts pushing for a permanent spot in New Jersey. [Read more 🡒]