Quinn Hughes still doesn't have a new contract with the Minnesota Wild, and the silence around it is starting to get loud.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Tuesday on 32 Thoughts that the lack of progress has caught him off guard.
"It has surprised me a little bit about how long this has taken with Hughes," Friedman said. He didn't stop there either.
Friedman went further, saying he hasn't sensed much recent dialogue between the two sides at all.
"I don't think there have been a lot of talks recently between Hughes and the Wild," he said. "I don't get that sense."
That's a notable admission from someone plugged into these rooms. Silence isn't nothing when a Norris winner's future is on the table.
Hughes is entering the final year of his current deal and can hit unrestricted free agency next summer. He posted 76 points in 74 games this season, with 69 assists.
Contract talks have reportedly gone silent for Quinn Hughes
The 26-year-old was even better once the games mattered more. He put up 15 points in 11 games this postseason, including four goals.
Minnesota acquired Hughes last year in a blockbuster trade with Vancouver, slotting him onto a blue line already carrying Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon.
He became a foundational piece immediately. Few defensemen in the league move pucks the way Hughes does, and Bill Guerin knows exactly what he has.
Guerin has been clear since the trade that keeping Hughes long term is the plan. But plans and signed contracts are two very different things.
Training camp hasn't started yet, so there's still runway here. This isn't panic mode, not yet anyway.
Friedman set his own marker for concern. If Hughes opens the 2026-27 season without a new deal, that's when this becomes a real story instead of an offseason footnote.
Nobody around the Wild appears to be questioning whether they want Hughes back. It's the how long and the how much that remain the open questions.
A negotiation like this is a bit like a poker hand nobody wants to show first. Both sides know what's at stake, and neither wants to blink.
The Wild finished the regular season with 104 points and a plus-32 goal differential, a roster built to win now. Losing Hughes to term uncertainty would undercut all of it.
For now, the clock keeps ticking toward camp, and so does the pressure.
Should the Wild trade Quinn Hughes if he isn't signed by training camp?
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