The Minnesota Wild still have time to get a Quinn Hughes extension done, but the clock is beginning to matter.
With training camp approaching and Hughes entering the final season of his contract at a $7.85 million cap hit, Minnesota faces a decision that could shape the franchise for years. Sportsnet raised the possibility Friday that if Hughes is unwilling to sign an extension, trading the superstar defenseman sooner rather than later may eventually become the Wild’s safest option.
That immediately brings the New Jersey Devils back into the conversation.
Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes are already established in New Jersey, and the idea of the three brothers eventually playing together has followed Quinn for more than a year. NHL insider Frank Seravalli also identified New Jersey this week as an attractive potential landing spot if Minnesota ever decides it has to move Hughes. There is no indication the Wild and Devils are currently negotiating a trade, but the longer Hughes remains unsigned, the harder it becomes to ignore the connection.
My read is that Minnesota’s biggest problem isn’t whether Hughes is worth an enormous contract. He is.
It’s whether Hughes wants Minnesota to be the team that gives it to him.
Why the Minnesota Wild Could Face a Quinn Hughes Trade Decision Soon
Hughes proved almost immediately that Minnesota’s massive acquisition price was justified.
The Wild surrendered Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick to acquire Hughes from Vancouver in December 2025. Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin knew the price was enormous, but players of Hughes’ caliber almost never become available.
The results were spectacular.
Hughes recorded 53 points in 48 regular-season games with Minnesota after the trade and added another 15 points in 11 playoff games, averaging an incredible 30:57 of ice time during the postseason.
That production makes simply allowing him to reach unrestricted free agency almost unthinkable.
Hughes has also publicly left the door open to staying. Earlier this offseason, he said: “I have a lot of trust in Billy and respect him.” He also spoke positively about Guerin’s desire to build a championship roster.
That matters.
But being open to staying and signing an eight-year contract are two very different things.
Quinn Hughes Career NHL Stats
| Type | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | 507 | 66 | 419 | 485 | 27 |
| Playoffs | 41 | 6 | 35 | 41 | 9 |
The Cale Makar Contract Changed the Hughes Conversation
The financial side became even more fascinating after Cale Makar agreed to an eight-year extension carrying a $20.4 million annual cap hit.
Sportsnet pointed to Makar’s deal as the most relevant comparison for Hughes. If one of the NHL’s other truly elite defensemen is earning more than $20 million annually, Hughes’ camp has little reason to negotiate from the $12-million or $14-million range.
Minnesota can technically afford another monster contract.
The bigger question is what happens to everything around it.
PuckPedia currently projects Minnesota at approximately $67.52 million committed for 2027-28 before a new Hughes contract, with the league cap projected at $113.5 million. At a Makar-level $20.4 million AAV, Minnesota would still have roughly $25.58 million remaining, but Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov alone would occupy roughly 33 percent of the entire salary cap.
That’s why I don’t view money as the primary obstacle.
Minnesota can find the money.
The bigger issue is whether locking two players into roughly one-third of the cap gives Guerin enough flexibility to build the championship roster Hughes wants around them.
Could the New Jersey Devils Actually Make a Quinn Hughes Trade Work?
This is where the New Jersey angle becomes much more complicated than simply putting three Hughes brothers on the same roster.
The Devils currently have only about $1.85 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia. Hughes carries a $7.85 million cap hit this season, meaning New Jersey would need to send out or otherwise clear approximately $6 million just to fit him onto the roster today without salary retention.
Dawson Mercer, for example, carries a $4 million cap hit. Even if a hypothetical Hughes package included Mercer, New Jersey would still need approximately another $2 million of space.
That’s important because any believable Devils trade proposal has to solve two separate problems:
- Give Minnesota enough value to justify moving one of the NHL’s best defensemen.
- Make the money work for New Jersey.
And Minnesota cannot afford to treat this like a normal rental trade.
A hypothetical Devils framework would therefore likely have to start with a meaningful young roster player such as Dawson Mercer, a premium prospect such as Anton Silayev, and substantial draft capital. That is my trade-value assessment, not a report that those players have been offered.
Minnesota paid Rossi, Öhgren, Buium and a first-round pick for Hughes less than a year ago. Guerin cannot realistically turn around and accept fifty cents on the dollar now.
My Read: Minnesota Should Set Its Own Deadline
This is where I think the Wild should be aggressive.
Seravalli said this week that if he were Minnesota, he would look to “rip the Band-Aid off at some point this month.”
I agree with the principle, though I wouldn’t necessarily trade Hughes immediately.
Minnesota should establish an internal deadline.
If Hughes is willing to sign long term, get it done and build around one of hockey’s most dynamic defensemen.
If he only wants a short-term extension, seriously consider it. Sportsnet floated a three-year agreement as an intriguing compromise because it could align Hughes’ future free agency more closely with Jack Hughes’ contract timeline in New Jersey.
But if Hughes’ camp communicates that he has no intention of extending at all, waiting becomes dangerous.
The Wild saw exactly how uncertainty affected Vancouver before Hughes was eventually traded to Minnesota. An earlier report that Hughes’ long-term future in Vancouver was uncertain ultimately proved meaningful when the Canucks moved him in December 2025. Minnesota now has to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself from the other side of the transaction.
The New Jersey Devils don’t have to be negotiating with Minnesota today for this story to matter.
They simply have to remain the destination everyone will watch if Hughes and the Wild cannot find common ground.
And until Hughes signs his next contract, that possibility isn’t going away.
Follow the Latest Minnesota Wild News and Trade Rumors
Stay up to date on the latest Minnesota Wild news, NHL trade rumors, contract updates and roster moves as the season unfolds. NHLTradeRumor.com tracks the speculation, trade chatter and developing stories that could impact the Wild lineup. While you’re here, join our NHL Fantasy Hockey Pool to test your GM skills against other hockey fans and compete for ultimate bragging rights. Looking for what channel the MN Wild game is on TV today? Visit our Minnesota Wild TV schedule for game times, broadcast information and where to watch. Bookmark NHLTradeRumor.com and sign up for our newsletter below to get the biggest NHL trade rumors and news delivered directly to you.
Enjoying our trade coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to catch breaking rumors first.
