This has been the summer of big-ticket contract extensions across the NHL as the league’s premier stars are cashing in amidst a rising salary cap market. Leo Carlsson, Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar have been the most notable players to take advantage of this shifting economy. Makar’s Colorado Avalanche deal is the highest of the lot as his 8 year $163 million contract will pay him $20.4 million per season; this is the richest contract in the history of the NHL. The player who this deal most greatly affects is the Minnesota Wild‘s Quinn Hughes, who heads into the final season of his current deal.
Quinn Hughes Due for Major Payday
With Hughes due for a new deal soon, the question is what this contract ends up looking like. The Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek projected where the Hughes deal could land at on The Sheet: “It’s gonna be probably somewhere in between Macklin Celebrini [18.8m AAV] and Cale Makar [20.4m AAV]; we all strongly suspect.”
Besides Makar, it would be hard-pressed to find someone more happy about his new deal than Hughes. Makar and Hughes have made their marks as two of the top defensemen in the league. Both have been compared to each other throughout the summer with the expectation that their contract’s should be comparable. Makar has now set the number that Hughes’ camp will use in negotiations with Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin.
A Short-Term Deal Might be the Preference for Quinn Hughes
What makes Hughes’ situation different from Makar, and the reason his number may come in at a lesser rate, is the higher likelihood that Hughes will sign a short-term deal. Makar has spent his entire career with the Avalanche, including a Stanley Cup championship victory in 2022. It is no surprise that he has committed to Colorado for the long haul. For Hughes, he is still making himself comfortable in Minnesota. Up until last season, he had suited up for the Vancouver Canucks. Hughes may not want to lock himself in long-term with the Wild considering how new he is to the organization.
As a result, a three to four year deal would not be a surprise for Hughes. That would likely take the average-annual-value closer to the $18-19 million Celebrini range. This would be a contract fair to both sides. Hughes would still cash in as the likely second highest-paid player in the game. He would be making more than Minnesota’s franchise player Kirill Kaprizov, who inked for $17 million over eight seasons last year. Hughes rewards Guerin for his gamble to acquire him, while not completely binding himself to the organization. The prevailing sentiment in NHL circles is that the Hughes brothers will eventually want to team up. If that is the case, a three year deal would make the most sense for Quinn. That would line up with his brother Jack Hughes, whose contract with the New Jersey Devils expires in 2030. At this point, the brothers could make a decision on where to team up, whether that would be New Jersey, Minnesota, or elsewhere.
Quinn Hughes Contract Expected to Land in the Macklin Celebrini-Cale Makar Range