The Chris Johnson Show: Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie during the “Would Wild Let Hughes Walk?” episode, talking about the Minnesota Wild and Quinn Hughes and what is going on there. Would the Wild let him walk to free agency if they can’t get him re-signed? Is money or playing with his brothers more important?
McKenzie: “… let’s move on to Quinn Hughes. We’ve kind of teased that situation enough. He’s extension-eligible, but no deal has been done as of yet. Just to read a bit of a quote that he gave during the player media tour a couple days ago.
“This is going to be done whenever I feel like it needs to be done. 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 making sure I’m making a decision that is going to be good for everyone. That’s kind of where my head has been at.”
About those are the words of one Quinn Hughes. How would you assess that situation for Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild? Should Wild fans be worried that Quinn Hughes may not want to stay long-term?
Johnston: “Yeah, it’s uncomfortable position for the Wild. There’s no way around it. I mean, as Quinn highlights in his quote, there he’s got all the leverage. You know, he’s the player that can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st in 2027.
Obviously, if that happened, and you’re talking about a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman in his prime potentially hitting the open market. I mean, a) he’s going to become very wealthy, and b) he’s going to have his pick of where he lands. I mean, that, that’s no mystery.
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And you know we know that this guy has a lot on his mind. I mean, he was moved from Vancouver to Minnesota in December last year. You know, he didn’t ask for that particular trade, or he didn’t ask for that destination. I think he did really like it. I take him at his word, and nothing I’ve heard behind the scenes contradicts that.
But at the same time, I mean, he’s in his absolute prime with the chance to go to free agency, and we know that there’s some family pressure for him to play with his brothers. Obviously, very close family. You know, but I think it goes even beyond just the possibility of uniting with his brothers Jack and Luke. It’s, it’s, it’s a chance to be the belle of the ball next summer. I mean, we’re going to plan wall-to-wall coverage around him on TSN if he goes to free agency next July 1st.
Now it’s Minnesota’s job, Bill Guerin. You know, we saw we did with Kirill Kaprizov. He’s in the exact same position last year at this time. Got to camp. It was a big question mark. I think there was a lot of doubts about Kaprizov re-signing. Guerin got it done before the season started. So, you know, there’s there’s a there’s a playbook there from the wild ends of things. I think, you know, Bill is the kind of jam that likes to have a face-to-face meeting and just be honest about everything and try to work through things.
And so I can’t offer a prediction right now about where this is going to go because really it’s, it’s Quinn Hughes’s call, as he said. It’s, he can say when, he can say where, and he can say how much. And you know, I don’t think he’s made up his mind. I said that a week or two ago. I talk about getting aggregated. That one went pretty well.
But you know, I think it’s the truth that he, you know, he likes the idea of potentially playing with his brothers one day. He likes where he is in Minnesota. He might like some other teams in terms of a potential fit longer term, where he thinks he can win a Stanley Cup. You know, I’m not sure that he knows what to do today, and I think if he did, the contract would already be signed, and we wouldn’t be talking about this.”
Would the Wild let Quinn Hughes walk to free agency?
Producer Drew: “There’s absolutely no way they let him walk to free agency, right? Like, if, if he hasn’t decided by March, they’re trading him, is that like pretty much?
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Johnston: “I wouldn’t say absolutely no way. It’s most likely they would trade him. He doesn’t have trade protection, but he sort of has trade protection in the sincee no team that is going to give up a whole whack for him now is probably doing that unless they feel like they can sign him, unless maybe it’s a sign-and-trade type of situation.
You know, the Wild though, went all in on them themselves last year. You know, they ran into your Avalanche in round two, didn’t go as they wanted. But you know, they might decide to self-rent them depending on how the season goes.
And that’s where everything gets interesting. And that’s where, when I mentioned the fact that I think Minnesota really would like to get Dylan Larkin, like it, you could wind up with a situation where, if Quinn Hughes doesn’t sign, that the Wild just say, ‘You know what, we’re already sort of pot committed. Let’s see what other moves we can make. Let’s, let’s improve this team and take a run at it.’
Because if you do that, you might talk yourself into the idea, Drew, that you know maybe he signs after the season, right? Like maybe it goes really well to get to the Stanley Cup, or, or some you know something like that. You know that’s what happened different circumstances. But Brad Marchand got traded to Florida. I think he was very focused on being a free agent that year. But they, they go on this run to the cup. He has a great time. You know, he decides he wants to stay there and commit his last contract to that team.
Now Hughes is at a different stage of his career, but you know these things can happen. Can go the other way too, right? That’s the risk. Is if this ends up not being a strong year for the Wild, you know, and, and there’s no chance of re-signing him. I guess, what are you getting back for him if you’re trading him in March? Like that. That’s, that’s what I would wonder. I mean, we know how great he is, but, but it’s, it’s a you’re not getting back anywhere near what you gave up for him if you’re only trading him partway through the season.
So, it’s a really, there’s no way around it. It’s a difficult situation for Minnesota. They are at the players’ wishes a little bit. I, you know, they’re focused still on signing him, and, and I don’t want the tone of this for me to be. I’m not hinting he’s not staying. I, because I really don’t know that. It just, he’s got a lot on his mind, right? He’s got, he’s got all this in the back of his head, and it’s it’s a huge business decision for him that he’s probably never going to get again.
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Like if he signs even a short term extension, which I’ve seen floated, you know, his next, let’s say he signs a three year extension, I think he’ll be 32 when he could go, come up the next time. It’s not quite the same as being like a 27, 28 year old UFA, especially with where the caps been going.
So, you know, the good news for Quinn Hughes is that he is, it’s going to be a good time to be his accountant starting next July one, one way or another. But, but you know, I think that there’s a lot on his plate, and, and this is going to be a massive storyline if we get through training camp and he hasn’t signed an extension with the Wild.”
Is it money or your brothers?
McKenzie: “What do you think is more appealing to Quinn Hughes, the allure of finding a way to play with your brothers, or finding a way to have a contract where your annual average value is the highest paid in the league? Where you’re at 21, 22, 23 million per, as an example. Just throwing numbers out here, but obviously using Cale Makar‘s contract as a comparable.”
Johnston: “I think the brother thing is real. You know, I think that, that really, it’s a very close family. I mean, anyone who’s on social media will know that they spent a huge chunk of their summers together. You know, on the ice, off the ice, socially, bopping around New York City. You know, having a good time, and that’s, that’s the way it should be.
But I do think that there’s, there’s a lot of family like pressure, and it’s in a good way. It’s because they love, they love each other. They, it’s a unique thing. It’s, you know, it’s right in front of them if they want it, I think to a degree. Not to say New Jersey’s lining up to even make that happen. But you know, Quinn has right now some control over his future, which you don’t often get as an NHL player. You know, I think that’s probably most important.
The money is going to come one way or another. I, I don’t think he’s looking necessarily; it’s not the top priority. Isn’t to reset the bar yet again. I, I think you know he’s probably going to come close to it, if he doesn’t do that either way. But you know, I really think putting himself in a position to win a Stanley Cup and then, you know, the brother thing, that’s that’s, that’s where the real tension is.
Quinn Hughes Comments on his Contract Situation with the Minnesota Wild
And, and look, I think too that there is reason to wonder, you know, the Wild, they’re a little weaker down the middle too. Like there is reason to wonder: Are they set up to win? Now they have a lot of good pieces. I think that this is, this is weighing into it as well.”
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