What will Quinn Hughes’ next contract look like?

The Minnesota Wild swung big when they acquired Quinn Hughes last December, and in a few short days, he will be eligible to sign a contract extension to stay with the Wild beyond this upcoming season.

The all-world defenseman was a solid fit in Minnesota, producing well and generating considerable offense for a team that made the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed what Hughes’ next contract could look like as Guerin and Leipold look to build a sustained contender in the Twin Cities.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold coming out earlier today and saying he is confident that the team will get an extension done with Quinn Hughes, but added he’s not sure on the term. They would like to go as long as possible, but he said he wouldn’t be surprised if Hughes wants something a little bit shorter term. So I went and I crunched some numbers for you here, Hutts. The last time we saw a really, really big top of the market extension for a high-end D-man, it was Eric Karlsson back in 2019-20. He kind of was the last market-setting deal is what I’m trying to say. And he signed at that point for 14.1% of the cap. So if Quinn Hughes is signing an extension for next year and the cap is $113.5 million and you go to 14% of that, that would be a $16 million AAV. Do you think Quinn Hughes on a long-term deal is going higher or lower than a $16 million AAV?

Carter Hutton: It depends on what he wants, I guess, out of Minnesota, but I still think that number is like in that 15 range for sure, especially when you’re sitting there with Karpizov making $17 million. But if he takes the term and he keeps it a little bit lower, if it’s in that four or five-year term, maybe it creeps up into that 16 number. And then at that point, you know, he’s 31, I think, and he still has another big deal coming. And the factor for me, I think, if you’re Quinn Hughes and your ability to play and stay there, he’s unbelievable, right? Like he showed his value in Minnesota and everywhere he’s been. He’s a world-class defenseman. Then with the cap going up, like he’s going to cash in even more, and I think he’s going to bet on himself. So I think that five-year, four-five-year window in that 15-16 range, for him, it solidifies. You made your big chunk of money. Then you can have another giant payday coming with that cap going up and kind of betting on yourself.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah. So he’s already made $40 million in his career at 26 years old. And I love that point… I think he almost has the high-or-low debate to have internally of, like, if he wants an AAV higher than $16 million, I think he could go to Minnesota and say, “Let’s do this thing. Seven-year deal. Give me the Kaprizov money at 17, and I’m locked in.” That’s a $100 million extension or whatever. Don’t make me do math live on the air.” But if he wants to go the other way, like, yeah, a five-year deal, I could see what, 5×15? Like, that kind of makes sense to me initially, where Minnesota saves a couple million bucks, the deal’s a couple years shorter than maybe they would like.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…