Despite rumors to the contrary, a new report says the Minnesota Wild aren’t shopping star defenseman Quinn Hughes.
Recent speculation has again linked Hughes to the New Jersey Devils — the team that currently employs both of his brothers, Jack and Luke — after the Devils were one of the central teams mentioned in rumors about Hughes when he was made available by the Vancouver Canucks this past year.
However, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported Tuesday that league sources have emphatically denied that Hughes is headed anywhere but towards a contract extension with the Wild. Russo said his sources went as far as calling the rumblings “bulls***,” “made up,” and “invented BS by bloggers.”
Hughes heads into the 2026-27 NHL season with just one year remaining on his contract before he is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. While the Wild seem confident they’ll eventually come to an agreement with the 26-year-old defender, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote on Tuesday that negotiations haven’t progressed very far.
“It has surprised me a little bit about how long this has taken with Hughes,” Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “I’ll be concerned if it’s not done at the start of the season. I don’t think there have been a lot of talks recently between Hughes and the Wild.”
Hughes is coming off of a fourth consecutive season with at least 76 points, notching 7 goals and 69 assists in 74 combined games for the Canucks and Wild. He added 15 points (4g, 11a) in 11 postseason games for the Wild. Hughes finished fifth in overall scoring among defensemen and seventh in Norris Trophy voting.
The Wild are expected to shell out a ton of future cap space to keep Hughes around after other stars like Leo Carlsson and Macklin Celebrini have helped push the NHL’s elite-player salary market toward the $18 million range this summer. Hughes and Minnesota’s negotiations will likely be shaped by the same process underway with the Colorado Avalanche and their own franchise blueliner, Cale Makar, who is also set to become a UFA next offseason.
Friedman has previously stated he believes Hughes prefers a shorter extension, suggesting a three-year deal could make the most sense. The goal would be for Hughes to be still able to cash in on one final long-term deal when he hits his 30s after the deal in Minnesota expires.
According to PuckPedia, the Wild are set to have over $45.9 million in cap space next summer. Alongside Hughes, they will have another expensive extension to sort out with goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, but already have other key pieces like Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, and Matt Boldy signed through at least the 2029-30 campaign.
