Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined SiriusXM NHL Network Radio with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin, and they were asked when a decision could come for Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Gord Stellick: “Okay, I’m not going to beat the Quinn Hughes thing to death, but I just look at how well the New Jersey Devils are playing. And you know what, Connor Hellebuyck, the fact he makes $8.5 million for five years now, the fact that his brother Jack Hughes still has four years left at an $8 million contract.
Like all, all of a sudden, you got those are the kind of things that can facilitate cap room if that’s what he’s looking moving forward. Not saying it’s going to happen, but obviously, as each day ticks by, you’ve got to be wondering aloud.”
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, I mean, is it a matter of Minnesota just trying to improve even more, and by getting a Dylan Larkin or making or somebody else up the middle there. Because the closer we get, and I don’t want to suggest that the decision’s already been made. I still want to give this more runway because you look at how well this team is playing. You look at how well the Wild have done, and where they’re at right now as they sit atop the Central Division. Which I think some of the teams in that haven’t been playing at their best to open things up to start the season.
But regardless, to sit there almost 20 games in and you’re 12-3-4, you’re absolutely rolling. The team is doing well overall. (Kirill) Kaprizov is leading the league in goals (now second after Draisaitl’s two last night). He’s got 31 (points) on the season. Quinn’s at 26, one of the top defensemen out there. Putting up points. They’re getting contributions from (Matt) Boldy and (Joel) Eriksson-Ek and (Blake) Coleman’s got five. (Max) Shabanov, I think, seven or eight goals on the season. Like, these guys are really contributing. They’re getting stuff from up and down the lineup.
And if you’re Quinn, you’re looking at this, and you have to analyze what’s the sustainability here in terms of being legit Cup contenders, and are they a centrepiece away? So whether it’s Larkin or another piece, you got to look at this and go, look, they’ve got the space. He said all the right things in terms of liking it since he got there last season. It’s just a matter of him determining, what’s their window, and I think that’s the ultimate decision for him in terms of committing to this team beyond this season.
It may just be a one-year deal. Maybe a three-year extension, but it may end up being a one-year deal, and just seeing how things go from there before deciding what the greener pastures are out there, and whether it’s New Jersey or something else.
I think for him the priority is determining what’s the sustainability of this team being a Cup contender, and how much do I play a factor? How much does adding a piece like a Larkin or somebody to that effect improve their chances and improve his chances of sticking around?
NHL Rumors: Is There a Scenario Quinn Hughes Gets Traded?
I think it’s still up in the air on that side of things, but this is Quinn’s call. As the Wild and Billy Guerin have mentioned repeatedly, they got us to sit back and wait a little bit.”
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