NHL Rumors: Quinn Hughes is open to staying in Minnesota
We saw what Guerin did with Kirill Kaprizov, signing him to an eight-year, $17 million per season contract. And with Quinn Hughes’ comments, the odds could be higher than him ultimately extending this offseason. However, the Wild is focused on the here and now. With the assets and capital space as weapons, the expectation is that they are not done adding them yet.
If Anthony Di Marco from the Daily Faceoff on TSN Radio in MontrealWhen asked if Quinn Hughes was a prelude to something else, he said there’s more to come in Minnesota.
NHLRumors.com Transcripts
Host: “Anthony, I’m looking at the potential playoff matchups, and you alluded to that. So now there’s no doubt you’re a better team with Quinn Hughes than you were before you bought him, but you’re missing a little bit of center depth, especially if you face the Stars in the first round, and if you get out of there, probably the Avalanche in the second round. So is this a harbinger of maybe another move with that prospect pool you’re talking about?”
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Anthony Di Marco: “I think so. I spoke to a Minnesota source on Saturday and they told me straight up, yes, we still have max cap space. What do you think this deal means? And I fully expect the Minnesota Wild to be one of the more aggressive teams between now and the trade deadline in early March. So for me here, I’m going to look at every center on the market and tie them up with the Minnesota Wild right now.”
And for me, my thoughts specifically go to Nazem Kadri, because I know the Minnesota Wild, just like Kadri as a player. He has won a Stanley Cup and also has security. And I think this could be a trend here, as Sean has alluded to, that the Minnesota Wild may not just be looking for rental properties.
Like they’re going to make big changes and add players to the core of the group for years to come, and if they’re now in a period that follows the trajectory of Quinn Hughes’ contract, it might be this year and next year.
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And like they probably have the best goaltending tandem in the NHL. A case can be made that they now have the best top four back end in the NHL, and now you need some help up front. Just as Joel Eriksson-Ek is now their de facto first-line centre. You still lose a top-six center in Marco Rossi, although by all accounts they’ve never been extremely high on him in Minnesota.
But I think you desperately need a shot in the arm in the middle here, and I fully expect Bill Guerin to make a big move on that between now and the deadline.
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