Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes still hasn’t signed a contract extension and the longer he goes without a new contract, the more New Jersey Devils fans believe that he wants to play with his brothers, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes. But even with a trail of evidence to suggest he’d love to team up someday, Quinn Hughes didn’t sound like someone who was about to leave the Wild to join them while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“First of all, it’s Sept. 16. I mean [Kirill Kaprizov] didn’t sign, …I don’t even know when, but later than this. So I wouldn’t say there’s any issues here,” Quinn Hughes said via The Athletic’s Michael Russo. “I just think that we’re going through the process, specifically myself, and just taking the time, and, like I said at the media tour, I don’t feel pressure to do anything.
“I’m really happy here. I love the guys. I love the team, and I fit in really well. I think, obviously, like, yeah there’s a draw to playing with those guys at some point. But I think Jack said it perfectly at [the] media tour: I’m not going to sacrifice a great spot for me to play…with them.”
The 'Quinn Hughes to New Jersey' myth still doesn’t make any sense
Somehow, Devils fans will find a way to take this quote and make it about them. They believe they hold all the cards since Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes are already on their team and it’s only a matter of time until Hughes forces his way into a family reunion in The Meadowlands. But as Wild fans know, that type of thinking isn’t realistic.
For starters, Quinn Hughes is on a Wild team that is closer to winning a Stanley Cup. The Devils have a young core and could rebound after missing the playoffs a year ago due to multiple injuries, but the Wild’s core including Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber should make them a force not only this upcoming season but for however long Hughes decides to extend.
In addition, the Devils do not have the assets to pull off a blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes at the moment. While they could dangle defensemen Anton Silayev, Seamus Casey or center Alexander Command as part of a deal, it would make no sense for the Wild to throw in their chances at winning a title next year in exchange for future assets.
And if Minnesota rightfully asked for pieces that could help them win now, they could be in the same situation as the Detroit Red Wings are in with Dylan Larkin, asking for players the Devils should have no interest in trading.
Quinn Hughes may have debunked the rumor he will leave the Wild for his brothers
Despite all of this evidence and Quinn Hughes’s comments, Devils fans will still believe that they’ll get him in a red and black sweater sometime in the next calendar year. But if you won’t take my word for it, ask Marcus Foligno, who joked to Russo that he has been giving Quinn Hughes advice after reuniting with his brother, Nick Foligno at last year’s trade deadline.
“It’s the best [to play with your brothers] when it’s toward the end of the career,” Foligno said. “Do it too early, you don’t appreciate it as much. It’s great when you’re just hanging on.”
Or perhaps Jack Hughes’s comments during last week’s media tour would do the trick, when he suggested he wouldn’t sacrifice what’s best for him to go play with his brothers.
“I think that, you know we’ve always wanted to play with each other,” Jack Hughes said via NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen. “Winning [the gold medal in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics] was an unbelievable feat that we could do together, but I don’t think he’s going to sacrifice what’s best for him for us to play together. I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see what he does.”
Jack Hughes later told Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin that Quinn Hughes “has a huge deal that’s going to be coming” and as of right now, it feels like the Wild are in the best position to give him that deal. But that won’t stop the swamp creatures or podcasters from putting Hughes in New Jersey, even if it’s as realistic as his NHL 27 face scan.
Until Quinn Hughes signs, the speculation is going to continue. But comments like the ones he made on Thursday suggest his next big comment could come after agreeing to a deal to stay in Minnesota.
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