Guerin said the questions surrounding Hughes’ future are similar to ones he faced last year when he was negotiating a new deal for forward Kirill Kaprizov, who at the time had one year left on his contract. The Wild and Kaprizov agreed to an eight-year, $136 million contract (average annual value of $17 million) on Sept. 30.
“A year ago today the same questions were being asked about Kirill and I just tried to talk people off the ledge,” Guerin said. “These things take time. There is a lot of things for teams and players to consider and think about. In June, July and August there’s really no pressure. I just think now, getting closer to the season and training camp, it heats up a bit.
“The relationship is there. It’s good. There’s just so much outside noise with podcasters and guys like that, Instagram guys, TikTok. Things are good. I feel like I’m pretty honest in my interviews. There are things I just can’t say, but communication is really good.”
Hughes has one season left on the six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85 million average annual value) he signed with Vancouver on Oct. 3, 2021.
The annual average value for Hughes is expected to make a massive jump, especially with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar signing an eight-year, $163.2 million contract with an AAV of $20.4 million on Friday.
“And that works for him,” Guerin, a former player, said of Makar. “Now, what we’re dealing with is these guys hit free agency a lot younger than we used to. They make more significant dollars early in their careers than ever before in the game. So when they come to be 27, 28, 29 years old and a free agent, they’ve already got a super-secure financial base. So now they can make decisions on how they want to approach the contract, whether it’s the amount the money, the term, where it is. All these other things come into play. They can be a little more choosey about it because they have the financial backing to make those decisions.
“I’m fine with it.”
Guerin said though the Wild can try to plan and figure where a Hughes’ contract would fit in their big scheme of things, nothing is set until they sign him.
“We can plan, we can look down the road, we can plan on what we want but then he’s gotta come back, too and tell us what he wants,” Guerin said. “We can’t make him sign anything. “We’d love to have him for as long as we can get him, if he’s got something different in his mind he wants to do, there goes our plan.
“We’re always planning, always looking out 3-4 years, and what things are going to look like, then reality takes over as well.”