Quinn Hughes has a contract next season. He continues to be one of the best contract in the NHL. One of the three best defensemen in the league is making less than $8 million per season. That deal is about to end.
We don't need to tell you that Hughes's contract ends after next season. Everyone knows about it. And just about nobody expects him to hit free agency. The expectation is that Hughes will re-sign way before July 1, 2027. However, the expectation is that he would have signed by now.
Nico Hischier, the Devils captain who was in a very similar position as Hughes, signed a five-year deal worth less than $12 million per season. Hischier signed his deal on July 1st. Most Devils fans haven't even thought about Hischier's deal for weeks.
Meanwhile, Quinn Hughes remains unsigned.
The reports surrounding his deal have become less and less confident. Many believe that the endgame here is that Hughes signs a long-term deal in Minnesota, where he was traded to last season, but what’s the hold-up? Why aren’t Quinn Hughes and Bill Guerin sitting in a room and hammering the details out?
Well, mostly because Hughes has been spending the entire summer with his brothers. He was just hanging out at Fanatics Fest in New York City and watched the World Cup Final with Jessica Alba in New Jersey. None of these things are in Minnesota, so that’s probably why he hasn’t signed a deal. He’s busy.
He just happens to be busy in New Jersey and New York. All the time. All summer long. Training camp is like six weeks away. Hughes hasn’t spent any time in Minnesota since they were eliminated.Â
Minnesota Wild fans can say whatever they want. When Zach Parise signed a one-year deal with the Devils in 2012, we all felt like he was being marched to free agency. Even a run to the Stanley Cup Final couldn’t keep him in New Jersey.Â
With the Wild’s roster taking a step back, most say that the team is primed to have an even worse season than they had last year. They are one injury away from falling out of favor. Imagine if Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Matthew Boldy, or Joel Eriksson-Ek gets injured? They have zero depth to deal with that.Â
The Wild cannot go into the season without a Hughes extension done. It will be too heavy a topic for the team to deal with. If we get any further away, it feels like the Wild will be walking Hughes to free agency, and likely, a contract with the Devils.
Guerin will never trade Hughes to the Devils. He will sell him as a premium rental before trading him to New Jersey. Either way, we think it’s either a three-year deal with the Wild, or Hughes is coming to the Devils.Â
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