Overview
- Hughes remained unsigned when the Wild opened training camp on Thursday and said he does not feel pressure to sign before the regular season.
- Wild GM Bill Guerin said negotiations with Hughes’s agent Pat Brisson are ongoing and that the team wants Hughes to stay long-term.
- A recent CBA rule change that shortened maximum extension length and Cale Makar’s record defenseman deal this summer have narrowed Minnesota’s options on term and salary.
- Hughes’s recent on-ice work — 53 points in 48 games with Minnesota and an Olympic gold medal — strengthens his leverage and market value in talks.
- Minnesota must weigh signing Hughes now against carrying him into the season and trading later or risking unrestricted free agency next summer while managing big commitments such as Kirill Kaprizov.