Hughes says he's 'open to re-signing' with Wild

Quinn Hughes said he is "open to re-signing" with the Minnesota Wild.

"I mean, I really like it here," Hughes said Friday, two days after the Wild were eliminated in a 4-3 overtime loss by the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round.

"We'll see what Billy (Guerin, Wild general manager) wants to do," Hughes said. "Again, we’re not even 36 hours removed so, it's a tough loss but I would definitely be open to re-signing here."

The 26-year-old just finished the fifth season of a six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85 million average annual value) he signed with the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 3, 2021. 

He was traded by the Canucks to the Wild on Dec. 12 for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a 1st-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. 

He can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season and is eligible to sign a long-term deal with the Wild on July 1.

Asked if he wanted to sign sooner rather than later, Hughes said, "not all of that’s up to me."

"We have to talk to Billy and see what he wants to do. Going into a year signed would be better but I’m a pretty mentally tough and focused guy," Hughes said. "If we didn’t have something done going into the year, I would be ready to go in no matter what and focused on the task at hand. But I’d say probably getting something done would be better."

The No. 7 pick by the Canucks in the 2018 NHL Draft, Hughes has 485 points (66 goals, 419 assists) in 507 career games with the Canucks and Wild. He won the Norris Trophy, awarded annually to the League's top defenseman, in 2023-24.

This season, Hughes had 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) with Vancouver prior to the trade and then 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) in 48 regular-season games with the Wild. He also had 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Minnesota. 

Hughes also had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in six games for Team USA, which won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. Guerin was the U.S. team’s general manager, as well.

"I have a lot of trust in Billy and respect him. The way he views building a championship team (in Minnesota), the players that we need, that's how I view things," Hughes said. "He's a great person, too. Just takes care of the players. I want to win and he wants to win more than anyone. I don’t think there are many people more disappointed than him right now. He’s going to do everything he can to make us a championship team and that makes me excited."

The acquisition of Hughes bolstered the Wild's defense and helped them finish third in the Central Division. They defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round.

Hughes said he liked what the Wild did this season and said it was tough to lose key players to injury, including forward Joel Eriksson Ek, who said he had a broken right heel, and defenseman Jonas Brodin, who broke the bone in his big toe in his right foot. Eriksson Ek was injured in Game 6 of the first round against the Dallas Stars and Brodin was injured in Game 5 of that series.

"You play the third-best team in the League in the first round, you play the best team in the League in the second round. That Dallas series was a massive win for us," Hughes said. "They were a great team and tough to beat them. Then we ran into a really good Colorado team that, frankly, has been in the mix every year the last five, six, seven years. Battle tested and they were the better team.

"Missing (Brodin) and ‘Ekky,' in hindsight, that really hurts. When you're a player in those situations you try not to think about it and do everything you can control, which is playing and missing those two guys really hurt. I'm not saying we would've won the series but obviously they're a big part of our team. And credit to Colorado, they're really good."

Hughes said he felt fine coming out of the postseason physically, but he could nevertheless use some rest, especially mentally.

"From a mental aspect a lot has happened this year and I never really let myself process or let my hair down. I was just always trying to push myself to make sure I'm at my best," Hughes said.

"It's been a really long year with being traded, then you go to the Olympics, then playoffs. Just from a personal note, probably, it'll be nice to just go home and process the whole year and get some rest. As far as a physical standpoint I feel good. I did not want to stop playing. I felt I had good energy, felt motivated. So, feel good."