It’s clear why New Jersey Devils fans care about the future of Quinn Hughes with the Minnesota Wild. It’s also clear why this whole saga has led to Wild fans showing real animosity towards Devils fans. If Twitter existed like it does today when Zach Parise signed with the Wild, we’re sure the shoe would have been on the other foot.
With every update on Quinn Hughes, both fanbases either cringe or celebrate. There are no small updates with the eldest of the brothers. The Wild went all in on acquiring Hughes, and now, they appear to be going all in to keep him.
The latest report on Quinn Hughes is not a good look for the Wild. Just days after Bill Guerin might have done the strangest interview regarding the situation, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet says that his opinion is that the issue is not about money. It must be something else, if his opinion is correct.
Elliotte Friedman: Re Quinn Hughes: The max is...20.8 [million]; my opinion is that the Wild will tell him or have told him, we'll do the the max, you tell us the term, we'll give you the max if that's what you want - 32 Thoughts (10/29)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) October 30, 2026
While this isn't a surprise, per se, it's surprising that it came out in this way. Friedman gives out "opinions" when he feels strongly about something. He understands that his voice carries in the NHL, and there is no more trusted source in the league, even if he gets things wrong every time to time.
If this story is true, it’s awful news for the Wild. It takes away every ounce of control they have in this process. They have made a blank-check offer to Hughes’s camp. We understand there’s a level of desperation from the Wild side, but this is unlike anything we’ve seen with any player ever.
Since the inception of the salary cap, we’ve never seen a player sign for the “max.” We see max contracts all the time in basketball, but hockey has always had more of a team concept to the star player. This isn’t taking anything away from players who squeeze every ounce of monetary value from the team, but this is at the extreme of that conversation.
Is this good news for the Devils? That’s not clear yet. It’s not time for a victory lap. As we saw last season, Devils fans should not celebrate until the Hughes brothers are confirmed together once and for all.
Add us as a preferred source on Google