The goalposts have shifted once more in regard to Quinn Hughes.
Not even two months ago, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold said that the team would be signing the superstar defenseman to an extension, and that the question was not "if" but "for how long." Since then, reports have surfaced that the Wild are still confident in the end result being an inked signature, but the narrative has certainly become more in question as Hughes remains unsigned and inching closer to the beginning of the season.
Now, it reads as though they are doubling down on a preposterous idea to pressure the 26-year-old into remaining with the team rather than expediting his end goal of playing with his brothers.
The latest hoop being jumped through is that Hughes owes Minnesota an extension. In a recent episode of The Sheet, Wild reporter Michael Russo said the following:
"If he wants to play with his brother, obviously, the smartest thing to do is to not sign with the Wild but the reason we all expect him to sign... is I think he realized the amount of assets the Wild gave up for him, and I think there's a feeling from his side that he deserves to pay that back at least give them terms on the next contract."Michael Russo, The Athletic
Interestingly, the first half of the quote pours some cold water on the argument that he wants to extend with his current team, but let's put that aside for a moment -- the reason the Wild are expecting him to sign an extension is that they gave up a significant amount of assets for him? Let's pick that apart in a couple of ways.
Firstly, no player "owes" their general manager anything past their current contract. Trade deadline rentals are not indebted to the team that acquired them whatsoever -- in fact, most trade deadline rentals move on past the 20-plus games with their new team after the season. Players who were drafted by a specific team do not owe their team anything either; we have seen in recent seasons Cutter Gauthier, Adam Fox, Isaac Howard, and Henry Thrun all refuse to sign with the team that called their name on draft day. The NHL is becoming more and more player-centric, and with that, the hockey man's loyalty to the teams they play for is falling by the wayside more and more. As it should be.
Secondly, the Wild paid a fair amount for a player of his caliber, even if that only results in a season-plus of his play. Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, and a first-rounder is undeniably an attractive package for a rebuilding team, but let's be crystal clear: Rossi is injury-prone, Buium and Öhgren are completely unproven, and the first-round pick was a late one. It's not like the Wild gave up one of their premier players to get the deal done.
Between the gaslighting that the package was some egregious overpayment and the notion that any player owes their team or GM anything past their current contract, it certainly seems like the media is trying to force guilt upon the eldest Hughes brother rather than simply reporting the facts of the negotiations.
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