Quinn Hughes still hasn’t signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Wild, and new comments from general manager Bill Guerin aren’t exactly putting fans at ease.
Hughes is entering the final season of his current six-year, $47.1 million contract. The expectation among most pundits was that a new deal would already be done — Elliotte Friedman had pointed to “the end of July” as a likely target, and The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported the Wild were confident they’d retain him. But August came and went without talks appearing to ramp up in any real way.
Update on Quinn Hughes
Guerin addressed the situation during a radio interview on the Chad Hartman Show, when he was asked how Cale Makar‘s record-setting extension with the Colorado Avalanche might factor into the Hughes negotiation.
“There’s a bar with Cale Makar signing that contract in Colorado, but Quinn might be after different things,” Guerin said. “He’s a different guy. He has a different personality and has different things in his life that are important to him. Who knows what he’s gonna want in the end.”
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Guerin did add that the relationship between the two sides remains positive.
“The relationship is good between me and Quinn and his agent,” Guerin said. “There’s no tension. Communication has been good. I don’t have anything disheartening to say.”
At 26, Hughes is a year younger than Makar and firmly in the conversation with Makar and the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ Zach Werenski for best defenseman in the world. Minnesota acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade last December, and he delivered immediately — 53 points in 48 regular-season games, followed by 15 points in 11 playoff games.
With training camp approaching, the pressure to get a deal done is only going to grow.
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