The Minnesota Wild and star defenseman Quinn Hughes continue to work towards a contract extension, but the latest comments from general manager Bill Guerin have done little to quiet the growing speculation surrounding the situation.
Hughes is entering the final season of his current contract, which carries an average annual value of $7.85 million, and his next deal is expected to make him one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.
Minnesota GM’s Latest Comments Put Quinn Hughes to Devils Rumors Back on Track
Minnesota would clearly prefer to sign Hughes to a long-term contract lasting anywhere from five to eight years. Hughes, however, is believed to favor a shorter agreement (three years) that would allow his future timeline to align more closely with that of his brother, Jack Hughes, in New Jersey.
Current projections place Hughes’ next contract somewhere in the range of $16 million to $18 million AAV.
When Guerin was asked whether he remained confident that Hughes would re-sign with Minnesota, he offered a cautious response. “I’m not gonna get too far into it, but I have been talking to his camp all along. These things take time. They are big decisions for players and teams, so it’s a process to work through it,” Guerin said.
The response immediately caught the attention of fans and media members around the league.
NHL analyst JP Gambatese pointed out what he viewed as a noticeable shift in tone. “We’ve now gone from ‘he’s staying’ to ‘we’re confident he stays’ to ‘we still think he stays’ to ‘well, it’s a big decision’ in just about six weeks here,” Gambatese said.
NHL journalist Annika Johnson admitted that her confidence in an extension had diminished. “I still think he re-signs, but I am not as confident as I once was… went from 100% to 75%.”
Meanwhile, some fans immediately began envisioning Hughes reuniting with his brothers in New Jersey. “Quinn Hughes, you are a New Jersey Devil,” one fan wrote. Another Devils-focused account simply responded: “Oh wow.”
Not everyone believed Minnesota offered an attractive enough situation to convince Hughes to stay. “With this lineup of scrubs, why would Hughes sign here?” NHL writer Robert W. Adams remarked.
Could Hughes Eventually Join His Brothers?
The idea of Quinn Hughes joining Jack and Luke Hughes in New Jersey has been one of the NHL’s favorite speculative storylines for quite some time. The possibility of seeing all three brothers playing together has naturally generated plenty of excitement among Devils fans.
Of course, none of that means Hughes is leaving Minnesota.
Negotiations of this magnitude are rarely straightforward, especially when they involve a franchise cornerstone who is expected to command one of the richest contracts in league history.
Still, Guerin’s latest comments have made one thing clear: the process is far from over.
Until an extension is signed, speculation linking Quinn Hughes to New Jersey is unlikely to die down anytime soon.
