Quinn Hughes just got traded to the Minnesota Wild in what was easily the biggest move of the 2025-26 NHL season. Now the Norris Trophy finalist is staring at the final year of his contract after playing just half a season in Minnesota. And Wild owner Craig Leipold is already making promises about what comes next.
Leipold told NHL.com that re-signing Hughes is a done deal. The real question is the length.
“We are going to re-sign him. 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, I don’t know, and the reason I can openly talk about this is that I’m not doing the negotiating,” Leipold said.
Translation: Hughes wants flexibility. The defenseman is set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027, and the Wild have no interest in letting that happen. But Hughes is also a guy who wants to hit the open market while he’s still in his prime. That likely means pushing for something in the three-year range so he can test free agency again in his early 30s.
The Cap Crunch Nobody Is Ignoring
Here’s where it gets complicated. The Wild already have the most expensive contract in salary cap history on their books. Kirill Kaprizov signed a deal worth $17 million per year last fall, which kicks in on July 1. That number is going to make everything harder.
According to PuckPedia, Minnesota has over $9.5 million in cap space for this summer. But they still need to re-sign Bobby Brink, fill out the bottom six, and give Jesper Wallstedt a contract extension. That money disappears fast.
Hughes is going to get paid. That’s not in doubt. The question is whether the Wild can afford to lock him up long-term without gutting the rest of the roster.
The Brother Factor
There’s another layer here that makes this whole thing even more interesting. If Hughes signs a three-year extension, he would become an unrestricted free agent at the exact same time as his brother Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils. Jack just scored the game-winning overtime goal for Team USA in the gold medal game, and suddenly a bunch of those USA teammates are talking about wanting to play together in the NHL.
So is Quinn playing the long game? Trying to line up his timeline with Jack’s so they can eventually team up somewhere? The Wild are hoping that somewhere is Minnesota. But if Quinn signs short, he keeps the door open to join his brother — or bring his brother to him — down the road.
For now, Leipold is saying all the right things. He wants Hughes long-term. But the money situation is tight, and Hughes has options. This one is going to be a negotiation worth watching all the way to the deadline.
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