The Minnesota WIld have plenty of concerns going into next season but the biggest is the future of Quinn Hughes. Entering the final year of his contract, the Wild have discussed an extension with Hughes’s camp, but urgency has started to rise after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported there hasn’t “been a lot of talks recently” between the two sides.
With vultures (or New Jersey Devils fans) circling, it would be in the Wild’s best interest to get a deal done before the start of the regular season. That goal may become closer after Friedman suggested on Thursday that the Colorado Avalanche are getting closer to a contract extension with star defenseman Cale Makar.
“The much anticipated extension for Cale Makar and Colorado is closing in,” Friedman posted on X. “Going to be a biggie…but a critical piece of business for the Avalanche.”
Cale Makar’s next contract could set the market for Quinn Hughes
Makar’s contract is an interesting data point as the Wild figure out Hughes’s next extension. Since both became full-time NHL players during the 2019-20 season, Makar and Hughes rank first and second in points scored. Both players are also former Norris Trophy winners, with Makar winning those honors twice and winning a cup with the Avalanche in the 2022 season.
Cale Makar | Quinn Hughes | |
|---|---|---|
Goals | 136 (1st) | 66 (17th) |
Assists | 371 (2nd) | 416 (1st) |
Points | 507 (1st) | 482 (2nd) |
Plus/Minus | +216 (1st) | +27 (T-80th) |
While both players are similar statistically, they also will be in the same neighborhood financially when they sign their next contracts. An NHL agent told ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark in July that Makar and Hughes could make anywhere between $15 to $20 million per season and both players are supposed to reset a market that received a shock to the system when Kirill Kaprizov signed his extension worth $17 million per season last July.
The only difference between the two is while Hughes is a matter of “if,” Makar has been a matter of “when.” Avalanche President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic stated he was “pretty confident” that Makar will sign an extension earlier this week and Friedman noted it could get done by the time the Avalanche hold their annual golf tournament before training camp as it was when Colorado announced an extension for Nathan MacKinnon back in 2022.
Cale Makar’s contract could bring clarity to the Wild’s Quinn Hughes dilemma
If Makar signs his contract first, all eyes will shift toward what the Wild do with Hughes. The length of the deal has been a topic of conversation as owner Craig Leipold has pushed for a five-year deal, but Hughes’s camp is reportedly asking for a three-year deal to sync up his brother, Jack Hughes of the Devils.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo also reported that Hughes’s contract could also cost more than the Wild were expecting, presenting a challenge building a competitive roster around two highly-paid players.
Despite the concerns, the Wild have put themselves in a good position with team-friendly contracts for Brock Faber and Matt Boldy and Russo noted this week that an anonymous source called any trade discussions involving Hughes “made up” and “invented BS by bloggers.”
Still, Wild fans will be nervous about Hughes until he actually puts pen to paper and Makar’s deal could bring them one step closer to making that a reality.
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