Quinn Hughes Contract Talks With Wild Draw Concern From NHL Insider
Silence from the negotiation table sparks unease as Elliotte Friedman warns that the Norris Trophy winner's looming free agency could become a major distraction for Minnesota.
Video Transcript
It seems like it would, it would behoove Hughes to, to re-sign in Minnesota, at least in terms of his, you know, chances of actually winning here in the near term.
But how, how difficult do you think it's gonna be to get a deal done?
And, and do you share Nick Foligno's confidence that, that Hughes is gonna eventually stay in Minnesota?
Yes and no.
I think he signs.
I think he'll sign for a very short-term deal.
But I think the comments about his brothers, I think that's just, wishful thinking.
He's going to play with his brothers.
Like, where that is, I don't know where that could wind up.
It makes the most sense it's New Jersey, 'cause Luke Hughes is signed into a longer deal.
And if New Jersey can pull it off, they will do it.
They will get all three Hughes brothers on that team.
If it takes, you know, pushing, moving heaven and earth to do it, I think they'll try.
So I think Minnesota's probably in a situation where they have to know the most they're getting out of Quinn Hughes is whatever Jack's contract ends at.
And then if they wanna take a swing and try to get Jack and then eventually get Luke, they could try to do that.
But I think it's probably gonna be the other way.
So Foligno's right, I think he's gonna sign in Minnesota, but I, I agree, I don't think it's gonna be long term.
I can't imagine why he's gonna lock himself into anything that expires past what Jack's contract expires at.
And look at the Tkachuks, right?
Like, the only leverage Brady pretty much had was he said, "I'm not staying."
And he had the option to say that because he wasn't locked into, like, something that where he couldn't just be like, "You know what?
Like, this is not gonna work for me.
I wanna go play."
And he wound up playing with his brother, and that was the most important thing to him.
And I think we know Quinn Hughes' priority is to probably play with his brothers, maybe even more than winning, as crazy as that sounds.
So I think it's probably a situation where Minnesota's gonna have to go and be very careful about what kind of deal they give Quinn Hughes, 'cause they wanna make sure that if they sign him to something, I think he's always gonna be tradable, but you have the flexibility to do that, so that means be careful with your no-move clauses.
The AAV on that deal don't make him the highest paid player in the league past Matthew Tkachuk, because then he becomes a little bit harder to trade if you have to do that.
'Cause if Quinn says, "Look, I'm, I'm not staying, and my short-term deal is what it is," then he's gonna probably have to move him.
So you'd want the most flexibility to, to be able to do that.
So yeah, I think he signs in Minnesota, but I'd be shocked if it's anything more than three years
