After Cale Makar signed a massive eight-year extension with the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes' next contract has come into the spotlight. Wild GM Bill Guerin isn't concerned about where their negotiations currently stand.
Bill Guerin isn't letting Cale Makar's historic contract extension impact his negotiations with Quinn Hughes.
The Minnesota Wild general manager made appearances on multiple local radio stations at the Minnesota State Fair on Monday, addressing questions surrounding superstar defenseman Hughes’ future with the franchise.
Hughes is set to enter the final season of a six-year, $47.1-million contract in 2026-27, and his contract negotiations have come under the spotlight after Makar signed his record-breaking, $163.2-million extension with the Colorado Avalanche last week.
“There’s a bar with Cale Makar signing that contract in Colorado, but Quinn might be after different things,” Guerin said on the Chad Hartman Show. “He has a different personality and has different things in his life that are important to him.
“Who knows what he’s gonna want in the end.”
Guerin and the Wild acquired Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12, 2025 in exchange for Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick.
Hughes transitioned seamlessly into the Wild’s lineup, producing 53 points in 48 regular-season games before tying Kirill Kaprizov for the team lead in playoff scoring with 15 points in 11 appearances.
This isn’t the first time that the Wild front office has made headlines for comments on radio broadcasts, with owner Craig Leipold expressing his desire and confidence that both parties would come to an agreement earlier this summer.
"We had to give up a lot to get him in this past year. We are going to re-sign him," Leipold said in an appearance on Minnesota Public Radio back on June 24, 2026. “We would like to go as long as we could. He would probably want it to be a little shorter — shorter being maybe three years. Hopefully we’ll end up at five.”
Between the large package given up to acquire him and his on-ice impact as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, there is external pressure on Guerin to get a deal done before his contract expires next summer. Makar’s recent commitment only adds to that pressure.
However, Guerin expressed that he remains comfortable with where things are at in the stage of their negotiations, and isn’t worried about what the future holds.
“I’m confident. That’s the luxury I have of being on the inside,” Guerin said on Judd’s Hockey Show. “You just have to work through the process of the negotiations, figuring out what the player wants, what it will take to keep him, make him happy.
Hughes has built up a resume that would suggest he could earn a similar amount to Makar's $20.4-million cap hit. If anyone is prepared to hand out a contract of that size, it's Guerin, having dealt with a similar situation involving Kaprizov just over a year ago.
"The same questions were being asked about Kirill and I just tried to talk people off the ledge,” Guerin said. “These things take time. There is a lot of things for teams and players to consider and think about. In June, July and August there’s really no pressure.
"I just think now, getting closer to the season and training camp, it heats up a bit."
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