The Minnesota Wild have several irons in the fire at this point of the offseason, but one of the biggest tasks for Bill Guerin is re-signing Quinn Hughes. The Wild raised concerns for fans when The Athletic’s Michael Russo revealed the team and Hughes’s agent Pat Brisson “are in the preliminary stages of working out a new contract” but things took a positive turn when The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported the two sides are close to a new deal last weekend.
“Quinn Hughes’ extension…they’re getting there,” Pagnotta said on the Hello Hockey show. “[It’s] around [$17 million AAV] if not higher.”
Pagnotta’s speculation is a good sign for Wild fans as they look to lock up a player that transformed them into Stanley Cup contenders after coming over in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks last December. But it also comes with a concern considering Kirill Kaprizov is already getting $17 million. Although the cap is rising, there is only so much money to go around, but the Wild have put themselves in a great position to make Hughes one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.
Quinn Hughes’s price tag isn’t as scary as it seems
The WIld are already pressed against the salary cap as they head into next season. After one last season of playing at a discount, Kaprizov’s contract is officially on the books and PuckPedia projects the Wild have $1.1 million in cap space. While Hughes’s extension would begin next year’s it’s already a concern as they try to acquire Dylan Larkin ($8.7 million AAV) or even Quinn’s brother, Jack ($8 million AAV) to fill the Wild’s hole at No. 1 center. But there’s enough to suggest it wouldn’t tie the Wild’s hands as they head into the future.
The biggest reason is the growth of the NHL’s salary cap. After jumping to $104 million this season, the cap will go up to $113.5 million next season and $123 million during the 2028-29 season. Those numbers would make it easier to fit a $17 million contract – or in the Wild’s case two of them – in the coming years, but the Wild can also benefit from contracts already on the roster.
The Wild’s biggest core pieces are already locked in for the foreseeable future and they’re under contracts that are an absolute bargain with the cap rising. Matt Boldy’s contract carries an absurd $7 million value through the 2029-30 season and Hughes’s partner, Brock Faber, is also under a deal that keeps him in Minnesota through the 2030-31 season at a number of $8.5 million.
Assuming both players stay on their trajectories, the value on those contracts will continue to go up and allow the Wild to spend elsewhere. Keeping Hughes and Kaprizov in the fold isn’t a bad place to spend that money, but the rising cap also allows the Wild to have the flexibility to add around them whether it’s through a trade or grabbing a player or two in free agency.
This flexibility puts the Wild in a Stanley Cup window. Hughes and Kaprizov are more than deserving of their large contracts but the deals that Boldy and Faber have signed will allow Minnesota to keep building. If Guerin can pull off a trade for Larkin, Hughes or an even bigger star, he’ll also reap the benefits for at least the next three years, allowing Minnesota to stay competitive in a loaded Central Division.
While other teams may see that as a sign of desperation, the Wild can afford the big bill and it should help them sign Hughes and have enough leftover to build around him.
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