Every day passes without a Quinn Hughes extension, and the conversation around his future gets a little louder.
It has now been three weeks since Hughes became eligible to sign a contract extension, and the situation is starting to feel different than it did at the beginning. He still has a contract for next season, and that deal has him making less than $8 million per year while standing as one of the three best defensemen in the league. But the clock is clearly ticking on that bargain.
Nobody is seriously expecting Hughes to reach free agency. The assumption remains that he will re-sign before July 1, 2027. The surprise is that it hasn’t happened already.
That’s part of why Nico Hischier’s situation keeps coming up. Hischier, who was in a very similar spot, signed a five-year deal worth less than $12 million per season on July 1.
Since then, most Devils fans haven’t had to think much about it. Hughes, on the other hand, is still unsigned.
The reporting around the deal has also started to sound less certain. There’s a growing belief that the finish line is a long-term agreement in Minnesota, where Hughes was traded to last season. But the obvious question hangs over everything: why hasn’t he and Bill Guerin already sat down and worked through the details?
Part of the answer, at least from the way the summer has unfolded, is that Hughes has been everywhere except Minnesota. He has spent the summer with his brothers, showed up at Fanatics Fest in New York City, and watched the World Cup Final with Jessica Alba in New Jersey. None of that points to a player locked in on Minnesota, and training camp is only about six weeks away.
He also hasn’t spent any time in Minnesota since the team was eliminated.
That’s where the pressure starts to build for the Wild. Fans can say what they want, but the longer this drags on, the more it starts to look like Hughes is being escorted toward free agency, and maybe toward a contract with the Devils.
The Wild’s roster only adds to the concern. The team is viewed as taking a step back, and plenty of people think this season could be even worse than last year’s. They’re one injury away from real trouble, with Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Matthew Boldy, and Joel Eriksson-Ek all named as players whose absence would leave them with no real depth to absorb the blow.
Minnesota, in other words, cannot afford to enter the season without an extension in place.
There’s also the matter of how this would end if it keeps going. Guerin is not going to trade Hughes to the Devils.
The path, as laid out here, would be to move him as a premium rental before ever sending him to New Jersey. That leaves the Wild with two real outcomes: a three-year deal, or Hughes ending up with the Devils.
In Other News...
Islanders Aging Core May Be Headed For A Bigger Reckoning
The Islanders are heading into the 2026-27 season with a roster that looks a lot like the one they already had, and that is the point. Aside from Anders Lee moving on and Matias Maccelli coming in, the group has barely changed, leaving New York as the sixth-oldest team in the league by average age, even before factoring in 19-year-old Victor Eklund, who is expected to push for a spot out of camp or be among the final cuts.
The bigger issue is what comes next. Ondrej Palat, Kyle Palmieri and Casey Cizikas are all set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, Semyon Varlamov is in the same position, and the trade protection on Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield is about to loosen. With Kashawn Aitcheson also knocking on the door of a larger role, the Islanders may soon have to decide whether to keep leaning on the same core or start making harder choices about how long that core can stay intact. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Already Have One Contract Problem They Need To Fix
Ondrej Palats place on the Islanders books is one of those lingering roster issues that can quietly shape a season. New York took on his contract from the Devils last season, and while his contribution was modest, the bigger challenge now is the price tag attached to it. A $6 million cap hit is tough to move when the production has not matched it, which leaves the Islanders with a familiar kind of NHL problem: a useful enough player, but a contract that makes every decision around him more complicated.
For now, the Islanders may simply hold the line and carry Palat through this season while they see whether his play can justify the commitment. There is at least an end point in sight, with Palat set to become a free agent next summer, so the team is not locked into this arrangement for the long haul. Still, until his value on the ice starts to look more in line with the cap number, the Islanders are going to have to work around a deal that does not fit especially cleanly. [Read more 🡒]
Matthew Schaefer Already Sounds Like The Islanders Cornerstone Fans Wanted
Matthew Schaefer is already talking like a player who understands the weight of being watched, and that matters for the Islanders as much as any highlight-reel play. In a recent interview, the young defenseman offered Gavin McKenna a simple message about the next step in his own path: enjoy the experience, keep working hard and stay present. It was the kind of advice that comes from someone who has had to navigate his own growth and appreciates how quickly a promising career can start to feel real.
Schaefer also made clear he was happy for McKenna and looking ahead to their early-season meeting, which is expected to come in Toronto. For a player trying to establish himself as a cornerstone, there is something telling about the way Schaefer is already framing these moments. He is not just thinking about his own rise, but about the pressure, the spotlight and the chance to meet it head-on when the schedule brings the two together. [Read more 🡒]