For the first time, an NHL insider questions the Quinn Hughes-Minnesota Wild extension

It seems like every day we’re hearing more about Quinn Hughes without anything actually happening. This is the rare moment when no news is bad news. 

The Minnesota Wild expected their offseason to be over by now, but they are actually the one team in the most flux. Obviously, their best player is without a contract extension. After sending a massive package to the Vancouver Canucks for Hughes’s services, one that includes top defensive prospect Zeev Buium, the Wild expected to get more than a year and a half from him.

On top of that, the Wild roster cannot be finished. There have been rumors for weeks about Dylan Larkin, but since Steve Yzerman got fired, there has been no movement with the Detroit Red Wings. This is leaving the Wild roster in flux, as they just don’t have a good enough center on the roster to compete in the Central Division. 

All the pieces were in place for the Devils to get Hughes last year. Tom Fitzgerald dropped the ball. The Devils' loss is supposed to be the Wild’s gain.

Since the Wild were eliminated, we’ve heard nothing but assumptions that he was going to sign an extension. The first to put his name on it outside of Wild media was Elliotte Friedman, who discussed a three-year, $18 million per season deal. Unfortunately, a lot has happened since he first discussed this.

For one, $18 million is no longer the standard for contracts. When the Philadelphia Flyers signed Cutter Gauthier to an offer sheet worth that, it changed contracts forever. Right after that, Macklin Celebrini signed for over $18 million per season. And he signed for just five years. 

Players don’t have to sign for the max to get max money. We assume that to get Hughes to sign a deal, the contract’s yearly salary has to start with a two. 

Is that even going to do it? The questions have started to fester that the Wild haven’t come to terms because of one reason or another. The biggest question is whether Bill Guerin can convince Hughes to play with his brothers elsewhere. 

Quinn Hughes said all the right things after the season ended, but then he spent his entire summer with Jack and Luke Hughes. They went to huge events in New Jersey, including allegedly spending time with Tate McRae on the Jersey Shore and attending the World Cup Final with Jessica Alba. That’s not a Minnesota summer; that’s for sure. 

Recently, one NHL insider has put out there that there have to be worries in Minnesota. Jeff Marek is incredibly well connected. He hears things, and he reports other things. He’s not Friedman or Pierre LeBrun, but he has his sources and doesn’t just put something out there for no reason. 

The Quinn Hughes drama is starting move from speculation to desperation for the Minnesota Wild

Speaking with Puck Pedia’s Keith Kavanaugh on The Sheet, Marek said that in the back of Quinn Hughes’s mind, this isn’t about the money. This is looking for a “Stanley Cup team.” He talks about the Wild’s weakness at center. They, on the contrary, talk about the Devils’ center depth. 

Kavanaugh talked about the Devils stars, including Jack and Luke Hughes, are in the primes of their careers. In four years, that’s not necessarily the case. 

To put a little cold water on this, Marek did have questions about the Devils coming out of the offseason. The goaltending situation is a question, and Carolina and Washington are clearly better than New Jersey on paper. Also, injuries are always a question in Jersey. He also did talk about the Devils winning the Metropolitan Division, especially if they are able to get Quinn Hughes to Jersey.

Essentially, we’re starting to see the tide turn. The Wild still hold all the cards and have the power to play this out as long as they want. Unless Quinn Hughes comes out and says he doesn’t want to sign, which seems unlike him, we expect this thing to last until well into the season.

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