Quinn Hughes Signing Extension With the Wild, Owner Craig Leipold Says

The Quinn Hughes sweepstakes that never really got started may already be over.

Wild owner Craig Leipold said in a recent interview with Minnesota Public Radio that the organization fully expects to re-sign the 26-year-old defenseman, putting to rest speculation that Hughes could test free agency or push for a trade to join one of his brothers in New York, New Jersey, or San Jose.

“We are going to re-sign him,” Leipold said plainly. “The question will be for how long. We would like to go as long as we could. He will probably want it to be a little shorter — shorter being maybe three years. We hopefully will end up at five.”

Hughes becomes extension-eligible on July 1.

The Wild Already Met with Hughes

GM Bill Guerin and Hughes’ agent Pat Brisson haven’t gotten into contract specifics yet, but Guerin and Hughes met in person on the Jersey Shore recently — and Guerin reportedly came away from that meeting having heard everything he needed to hear. That led to the owner’s very public statement.

Leipold’s confidence reads like someone who has been told, directly or indirectly, that his star defenseman wants to stay.

It’s not hard to see why Hughes would want to remain in Minnesota. The Wild are building something real. They have Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy leading the attack, a deep blue line with Hughes, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin, and a capable tandem in goal with Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson. Speculation suggests they’re also targeting a second-line center this offseason, with names like Vincent Trocheck, Thomas Hertl, and Dylan Larkin in the mix.

On the contract itself, Hughes will command top-of-market money regardless — only Cale Makar and Zach Werenski could get more.

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