Quinn Hughes Will Make a Decision When He is Ready To

With Connor Hellebuyck being traded to the New Jersey Devils, the focus is shifting to players in the final years of their contracts. Namely Quinn Hughes with the Minnesota Wild. While Nikita Kucherov remains unsigned, many still believe it will get done, but that is flying under the radar compared to Quinn Hughes in Minnesota.

On Tuesday, Jim Biringer of Full Press Hockey and NHLRumors.com joined Off the Rush on Pulse FM in Vancouver to discuss Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild. 

Full Press Hockey Transcriptions

Host: “We just saw here in Vancouver the return of one of the best defensemen in Vancouver Canucks history, Quinn Hughes. We heard the fans chanting, “He’s not signing.” To basically send a message to the Minnesota Wild fans that he’s not signing with your team, it sounds like, with this Connor Hellebuyck move, Quinn Hughes is probably eyeing a chance to play with his brothers in New Jersey.”

Jim Biringer: Yeah, I mean, look, I think that’s the hottest rumor out there. I think that everybody’s been putting the pieces together about Quinn Hughes wanting to play with his brothers because you guys know out there in Vancouver, the former president opened up his mouth and said, hey, Quinn Hughes wants to play with his brother someday.

They [the Devils] tried to make it happen last year. He didn’t go there. He goes to Minnesota. I think really they’re taking their time. I think, look, you can say all the right things in the media and in the press about how things aren’t connected, and Bill Guerin, the general manager of the Minnesota Wild, and Craig Leipold can talk about how hey, we’re gonna get him signed and all that. Bill Guerin hasn’t, but Leipold has.

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But look, Minnesota needs a center. He knows it. He’s playing well right now for Minnesota. They’re rolling. I think they want to get through this weekend, this road trip. He wanted to get through Vancouver. Emotions were a little bit high coming in after how things ended last year. Yes, could we see a reunion with the brothers? Yes, but he’s going to do it on his time. He said it.

When he’s ready, he’s going to go to his agent. He’s going to go to Bill Guerin and say we’re gonna get this done. It’s 50-50 in my book right now because you see what New Jersey’s doing. They add Quinn Hughes with the brothers. They add Connor Hellebuyck. Could they add more pieces.

Again, they’ve got to make the money work there because Quinn Hughes is gonna get a hefty raise off the contract he’s making right now, but it’s a perfect setup if and when he decides to go to New Jersey. Again, it’s his decision when he wants to do it, and maybe he ends up staying in Minnesota if they add Dylan Larkin.”

Full Press Hockey Analysis: Quinn Hughes continues to take his time in his contract negotiations with the Minnesota Wild. He has been eligible for an extension since July 1st. Many assumed he would have signed that day; however, he didn’t. It has gotten past the point where Kirill Kaprizov signed his long-term extension with the Wild, too.

Everyone will dissect everything Quinn Hughes and GM Bill Guerin say. Same with owner Craig Leipold, who said in a summer interview that the Wild would re-sign him. But if we take things at face value and believe what Quinn Hughes has said multiple times, he will make a decision on his time, not anyone else’s.

On Wednesday, GM Bill Guerin did an interview on WCCO’s The Chad Hartman Show where he was honest, saying he is letting Quinn Hughes do his thing in the media and just focus on playing hockey. Only Quinn Hughes knows what is going on right now. They haven’t talked in a while, and they know everything, so when it happens, it happens.

Bill Guerin doesn’t seem concerned about the contract negotiations, since he knows the Minnesota Wild are rolling and will do what is best for the team when the time is right. However, the cloud hanging over all of this situation is: does Quinn Hughes truly want to play with his brothers? Is the brotherly love a strong factor in these negotiations? 

Right now, the Minnesota Wild are focused on being the best team they can be, and the situation with Quinn Hughes will play itself out over the course of the season one way or another.

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