With Cale Makar signing his eight-year, $163.2-million extension in Colorado, Quinn Hughes' deal to stay in Minnesota might not be far behind. But how does the money and term affect Hughes' negotiations?
It finally happened.
Just four days after Joe Sakic said he wasn't worried about getting an extension done with all-world defenseman Cale Makar, he got the future Hall of Famer locked in for the next eight years with the Colorado Avalanche at a whopping $20.4-million per season.
But because everyone kind of figured this was going to get done sometime before training camp, the two most notable things about this contract are: 1) that it's official, and 2) how it affects the market for another elite defenseman who is eligible for a new contract.
As smoothly as things went in Colorado, recent developments between the Minnesota Wild and Quinn Hughes have clouded that situation, and the team's competitive future in short order.
It was reported all along that there likely wasn't going to be any kind of problem between player and team here, but as time passed and an extension didn't get done, it became a little more pointed. This was supposed to be an amicable situation, so why the delay and intrigue?
It's easy to assume that the answer was as simple as Hughes waiting for Makar to set the market. That may not actually be the case, but certainly convenient for Hughes that Makar came in over the top.
Because here's the thing: Hughes should have always been prepared to ask for more money than Makar. Even if you don't think he's a better or more impactful player, the circumstances are such that Hughes should be trying to ring the bell in a way that Makar wasn't going to.
It's not that $20.4 million against the cap is a small amount of money, obviously, but it's fair to say Makar is deserving of every penny, and this still keeps Colorado's competitive window for the entire duration of the extension.
Makar is also basically a full year older than Hughes despite debuting in the NHL a bit later, so Colorado is buying seasons deeper into Makar's 30s.
What's really worth noting here is that local reporting suggests Hughes only wants a three-year deal so that his unrestricted free agency period can align with the expiry of little brother Jack's coming out of New Jersey. Whether that's true remains to be seen, but it creates an interesting dynamic between the newly acquired blue liner and his team.
Much like Colorado, Minnesota's window to win is right now, while Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber are in their mid-to-late 20s. Four, five, six years from now basically does not matter for this team because, barring some really good wheeling and dealing, they're just not going to have the talent at the top of their lineup to compete.
Hughes and his representatives will obviously understand this. Apart from the reported understanding that Minnesota gave up a lot to get them, he does not have the same kind of reason for loyalty to the cause that Makar has in Colorado.
This is Hughes' second team, where he hasn't even played a full season, while Makar was drafted by and won a Cup with Colorado.
If the stuff about wanting to hit free agency alongside his brother is true, it feels more likely that they'd choose a non-Minnesota destination if their goal is to win four years from now.
Add in the fact that Minnesota has a couple good-sized contracts coming off the books next summer — and will probably need to move more to accommodate Hughes' deal, regardless of how big it is? It's easy to see a situation in which this team has Hughes at the league for the next three or so years, and Kaprizov at his $17-million AAV.
That might not be the best way to build a team for the long term, because that's a huge percentage of the cap going to two guys, even if the ceiling is still rising sharply and should continue to do so through the 2030 season, at the very least. Plus, because of the age of all the Wild's key pieces, the long-term just can't be the thing they consider here.
Again, it's not a question of "deserve" when saying whether Hughes could or should make more money than Makar. It's a question of leverage, of comfort, and of potential.
Hughes is a UFA at the end of this season and he hasn't really been given a super-compelling reason to stick around Minnesota other than "they gave up a lot to acquire him," which is just something that should happen with a player of his caliber. And also, if anything, gives him more leverage than Makar had.
Makar set a baseline with his deal, and now it's up to Hughes to decide just how generous he wants to be with Minnesota.
Bill Guerin is hoping the answer is "very," but at the very least, Hughes shouldn't take a penny less than what Makar now makes.
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