After months of speculation, Quinn Hughes finally spoke to the media as he negotiates a potential contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. While his desire to play alongside his brothers Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes have fueled rumors that he could be headed to the New Jersey Devils, Quinn Hughes took a patient approach as he provided an update on the negotiations during the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
“This is going to be done whenever I feel like it needs to be done,” Hughes said via NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen. “I don’t feel backed up against a wall. I’m very thoughtful. I want to make sure I’m taking my time on everything and make sure I’m making a decision that is going to be good for everyone. That’s kind of where my head has been at.
“We haven’t had that many conversations just because of how I wanted my summer to go in terms of being fresh and resetting and enjoying and training and being around friends and family. As we get going here, I’m sure it’ll heat up. But I don’t feel backed up against a wall where I have to sign before camp.”
Overall, Hughes’s comments sound like negotiations will intensify when he reports for the Wild’s training camp, which begins on Sept. 18. But it also gives Devils fans another chance to run away with their delusional fantasy of forming a Hughes family reunion in New Jersey.
Quinn Hughes just gave Wild fans a reason to be optimistic about his future
The latest updates before Hughes’s comments on Wednesday made it seem like things were headed in the wrong direction. After spending the summer with Jack Hughes including an appearance during a Morgan Wallen concert and the World Cup final, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that his situation with the Wild was “fluid” and that the two sides “haven’t really talked about an extension.”
“My understanding of the situation through the summer is I think he was having trouble basically making up his mind about what he wants to do for his future,” Johnston said during an appearance on TSN’s 1st Up on Tuesday. “Obviously there’s a desire there, that we’ve known for years, to one day potentially play with his brothers. I think he did enjoy his Minnesota experience after the trade midway through last year from Vancouver. And so, I think at some point he’s going to have to, I’m sure he’s been doing some degree of soul-searching and leaning on conversations on the people he trusts around him, but he’s going to have to make a call what’s best.”
Those words may have been blood in the water for Devils fans ahead of Hughes’s appearance in front of the media on Wednesday but it feels like Hughes explained a lot of the things that had happened over the summer.
While the negotiations had been quiet, it likely could have been due to the victory lap he and his brother were taking around the country after winning an Olympic Gold Medal. Jack Hughes also told The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus that the two brothers were “enjoying the summer” as opposed to plotting a master plan to get to New Jersey and admitted earlier on Wednesday that it would be hard to get three brothers on the same team – especially with Hughes’s contract likely coming in with an annual average value over $20 million.
Rosen also added that Quinn Hughes said “it was important to unwind this summer after a ‘heavy’ 16-18 months” after demanding a trade from the Vancouver Canucks, getting traded to Minnesota, playing in the Olympics and making a playoff run. But he also mentioned “he knows it’s time to get cracking” and had “an open line of communication” with Wild general manager Bill Guerin.
After watching Kirill Kaprizov turn down an offer at the beginning of training camp and eventually agree to an eight-year, $136 million contract before the start of the regular season, Wild fans may have a good idea of when Hughes could sign.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also noted that the real panic moment could be if Hughes is not signed before the regular season. While Quinn Hughes left the door open of bringing negotiations into the season, urgency to get a deal done could strike when the two sides sit down in the near future and it could be the pathway to get a deal done.
But for the short term, it feels like momentum is in the Wild’s direction and Hughes also noted that head coach John Hynes, Bill Guerin and his teammates including Brock Faber were “massive draws” per Lazerus.
Devils fans are running out of reasons to think Quinn Hughes is heading to New Jersey
This won’t stop Devils fans from making photoshops and lopsided mock trades that bring Quinn Hughes to Minnesota. Even if Quinn Hughes signs, they could circle the end of that contract as the moment they get their final infinity stone to claim the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
It’s also notable that the Wild made the playoffs and could still acquire Dylan Larkin in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings, that could give them a better roster than the team he could join in New Jersey.
Mix in roughly $20 million reasons to stick around and it sure feels like Quinn Hughes didn’t tip his hand while explaining why talks haven’t progressed with a week until training camp. But like many comments, it’s something that most onlookers will run away with, especially with those watching from afar with hopes Hughes will put on a Devils jersey soon.
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