Quinn Hughes Extension Nearing $17 Million AAV as Wild Lock In Core

Quinn Hughes has been extension-eligible for less than two weeks, but it sounds like the Wild are already closing in on a deal that will make their star defenseman one of the highest-paid players in hockey.

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, contract talks between Hughes’ camp and general manager Bill Guerin are progressing steadily. Speaking on the Hello Hockey podcast over the weekend, Pagnotta put a number on it: around $17 million in average annual value, maybe more.

That would put Hughes in the same neighborhood as Kirill Kaprizov, whose massive extension kicks in for 2026-27 at the same $17 million AAV. For a brief moment, Kaprizov was the NHL’s highest-paid player by AAV — until Anaheim matched Leo Carlsson’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet last week. Now Hughes might join them at the top of the salary cap food chain.

The term is still fuzzy. Elliotte Friedman reported earlier that Hughes is likely looking at a three-year extension, but nothing is confirmed yet. What is clear: Hughes has been everything Minnesota hoped for and then some since arriving from Vancouver last December.

The numbers are ridiculous

In 48 games with the Wild after the trade, Hughes put up 48 assists and 53 points. That’s a 90-point pace over a full season for a defenseman. He followed that with 15 points in 11 playoff games as Minnesota bounced Dallas before falling to Colorado in the second round.

Hughes led the entire NHL in ice time this season, averaging 27:44 per game. The guy is out there for damn near half the game, playing against other teams’ best lines and still producing like a top-line forward.

And yeah, $17 million AAV is a lot. But the salary cap is about to go on a rocket ride over the next few years. What looks expensive now could look like a bargain by 2028.

The real question is how Guerin builds around both Hughes and Kaprizov when they’re eating up roughly $34 million combined — probably close to 30 percent of the total payroll once the 2027-28 season rolls around. That’s doable if the cap keeps climbing. But it leaves very little margin for error with the rest of the roster.

For now, the Wild are locking in their two franchise players and figuring out the rest later. Hughes is 26, a Norris Trophy winner, and playing the best hockey of his career. Paying him market rate was always going to be the price of doing business.