Wild’s Guerin says signing Quinn Hughes is ‘priority one’
The game plan for the Minnesota Wild seems to be pretty cut and dry – sign Quinn Hughes.
When speaking to the media on Monday, Wild general manager Bill Guerin made that point very clear, as the team wants to have the star defenseman on the books for the foreseeable future.
Bill Guerin said re-signing Quinn Hughes is "priority one" the summer. Talked about how much Hughes liked it here, how much of an impact he had on this team. Everyone needs time to decompress, Guerin said, but they'll focus on that for sure #mnwild
Guerin noted that the locker room enjoyed having Hughes, admiring the impact he had on the team in just a few months.
“We loved having Quinn,” Guerin said. “He’s so impactful. He’s extremely dialed in. He liked it here. I love having him here. The impact he had on our team was incredible. Yeah, priority one.”
Guerin made a huge move in December, trading center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and the Wild’s 2026 first-round pick to acquire Hughes. The move paid off. Hughes added an extra element to the playoff-bound team, making them a true contender to come out of the Central Division in the playoffs. In the 48 regular-season games with the Wild, the 26-year-old scored five goals and 53 points. In the team’s run to the second round, Hughes added another 15 points, tied for the team lead with Kiril Kaprizov, and still tied for third among all skaters in the playoffs.
Ultimately, the Wild fell short of reaching their goal, losing to the Colorado Avalanche in five games.
The Orlando native has one more year remaining on his six-year contract, which he signed with the Canucks in October 2021. The deal has a cap hit of $7.85 million, with his next contract expected to have an AAV north of $10 million.
Guerin noted that a deal certainly isn’t going to get done right away, as many in the organization want some R&R.
“These are things that take time. Everybody needs a little bit of time right now to decompress. But that’s priority one.”
Hughes himself even admitted that he wouldn’t mind staying in Minnesota for a little while longer.
“I really like it here,” Hughes said last week. “I love the team; I love the city and the fans. Being in that locker room, it’s a special group. I would definitely be open to re-signing here with the guys that we have. There’s a lot of trust with [Guerin], as well.”