Suddenly, the $18 million projection for Quinn Hughes doesn’t seem far-fetched at all

Raphael Simard
Suddenly, the $18 million projection for Quinn Hughes doesn’t seem far-fetched at all
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images

On July 1, Elliotte Friedman mentioned the possibility that Quinn Hughes would sign his contract in July.

It's now August, and he still hasn't signed a contract for the 2027–2028 season. However, prices have gone up.

Hughes will likely no longer be worth $18 million a year, as the insider had suggested.

Since Friedman's public report, Leo Carlsson has signed for $18 million annually, Connor Bedard for $15 million, and Macklin Celebrini for $18.8 million.

The Wild defenseman ranks among the top three defensemen in the NHL, and unlike the three players mentioned above, he will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) rather than a restricted free agent (RFA). The price tag will be high, and expect him to sign for $20 million annually. The same goes for Cale Makar, who will become a UFA at the same time.

He certainly won't be cutting Bill Guerin and the Wild any slack, that's for sure.

In the comments section of the NHL Rumor Report's July post, people wrote that $18 million was far too much. Now, that's the standard for an exceptional player like Hughes.

Minnesota currently has just over $1 million in cap space. Hughes's next contract won't take effect until next July 1. Until then, Guerin will have a salary cap of $113.5 million, not $104 million. In addition, the contracts of Ryan Hartman ($4 million), Blake Coleman ($2.45 million), and Jared Spurgeon ($7.575 million), among others, will expire.

So there's no excuse not to re-sign his best defenseman.


In Brief

– Jameson Taillon is coming home.

– Ouch.

– Great move by the Rays.

– Just imagine.

– Stay tuned.

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