Guerin “confident” Hughes will reach new contract with Wild

Bill Guerin said he’s “confident” Quinn Hughes will reach a new contract with the Minnesota Wild but also added “we can’t make him sign anything.”

The Wild GM, speaking Monday on “Judd’s Hockey Show” on SKOR North Radio from the Minnesota State Fair, talked at length about negotiations with Hughes, who has been eligible to sign a new contract since July 1. The defenseman can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. 

“I’m confident. That’s the luxury I have of being on the inside,” Guerin said. “There’s always the other side of it. I can be confident, you can be insecure, 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, who won the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL in the 2023-24 season with the Vancouver Canucks, was acquired by the Wild in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 12, 2025. 

He had 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) in 48 games for the Wild, who defeated the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round last season before falling to the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Hughes, who helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, had 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 11 postseason games. 

When asked where things stand regarding talks with the 26-year-old, Guerin said, “This is the tough part, because I’m in the negotiations and I know everything that’s going on within the negotiations. I can’t really say the ins and outs of it because it’s not what you do. 

“The only thing I can say is we have a great relationship with Quinn. The team, me personally, I have a great relationship with his agent. Things are going well. We are talking all the time.  There’s good communication.”

Guerin, who was also GM of Team USA in the Winter Olympics, said he’s seen Hughes in person a couple of times this offseason and has spoken to him on the phone. 

“We have that kind of relationship,” Guerin said. “Which in my mind is healthy. When it comes down to brass tacks, I deal with Pat Brisson his agent. You don’t deal with players.”

Guerin said the questions surrounding Hughes’ future are similar to ones he faced last year when he was negotiating a new deal for forward Kirill Kaprizov, who at the time had one year left on his contract. The Wild and Kaprizov agreed to an eight-year, $136 million contract (average annual value of $17 million) on Sept. 30. 

“A year ago today 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.

“The relationship is there. It’s good. There’s just so much outside noise with podcasters and guys like that, Instagram guys, TikTok. Things are good. I feel like I’m pretty honest in my interviews. There are things I just can’t say, but communication is really good.”

Hughes has one season left on the six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85 million average annual value) he signed with Vancouver on Oct. 3, 2021.

The annual average value for Hughes is expected to make a massive jump, especially with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar signing an eight-year, $163.2 million contract with an AAV of $20.4 million on Friday. 

“And that works for him,” Guerin, a former player, said of Makar. “Now, what we’re dealing with is these guys hit free agency a lot younger than we used to. They make more significant dollars early in their careers than ever before in the game. So when they come to be 27, 28, 29 years old and a free agent, they’ve already got a super-secure financial base. So now they can make decisions on how they want to approach the contract, whether it’s the amount the money, the term, where it is. All these other things come into play. They can be a little more choosey about it because they have the financial backing to make those decisions.

“I’m fine with it.”

Guerin said though the Wild can try to plan and figure where a Hughes’ contract would fit in their big scheme of things, nothing is set until they sign him. 

“We can plan, we can look down the road, we can plan on what we want but then he’s gotta come back, too and tell us what he wants,” Guerin said. “We can’t make him sign anything. “We’d love to have him for as long as we can get him, if he’s got something different in his mind he wants to do, there goes our plan. 

“We’re always planning, always looking out 3-4 years, and what things are going to look like, then reality takes over as well.”