Article: Overpaying For Quinn Hughes Is Impossible

[Pewterschmidt]

16 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

He’s not really a goal scorer but definitely an elite set up guy. I was referencing his career point totals. 459 games 432 points most of which are assists. So getting his skill set to mesh with the Wild’s current goal scorers will be key. 

Assuming this is true, Q may be the perfect compliment to 97.  When zuc is out 97 becomes 96.  Comes down to earth a bit.  Having a 26 yo elite distributor might be the straw to stir 97’s drink. We need a fully in-locked 97 for this team to advance (and to justify the $17M)

[Pewterschmidt]

12 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yes, it would be crazy considering it would be his first ever.

I understand that Hughes is better than Buium today and fits the timeline a bit better, but I was bought in on Buium's future and now another fan base will get that.

The 4 for 1 asset swap is more than I'm comfortable with, but I'm sure the hockey will be exciting.

I'd be more excited to have found a way to move Rossi, Ohgren, and some pick combination for Pastrnak(or other high end scoring forward while retaining Buium), but I guess an undersized offensive defenseman in his prime instead of a mid-sized rookie offensive defenseman(who has 12-16 years of quality play ahead) is what Wild fans get.

Guerin doesn’t complete a transaction until he’s assured  to overpay by at least 35%

[Pewterschmidt]

12 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

our timeline aligns with Kaprizov and Boldy and Ek. Their peak.

Window 97™️

[mnfaninnc]

Tony's right, it's go time. Prospect pool is about to be drained. Guerin has more work to do, possibly a 2nd line center, possibly an RHS sniper shot wing. Possibly both.

Quinn is part of the US Olympic team. I'm pretty sure Guerin has had a feel for him and how some of our guys like Faber and Boldy mix with him. Quinn will be able to play with his brothers on this team. Maybe that's enough?

One thing Guerin has a clear advantage of over Fletcher is the locker room chemistry. He just has a real good feel for that. I think he kind of knew going in that for the next 2 years, he has saved Quinn from meaningless games, and for a player, that can add to loyalty. Guerin gets to have access where other GMs can't by being the head of the US Olympic team. He can have conversations with players nobody else has access to, and he can see the interaction in the locker room which he is really good at. I think we need to trust this a little bit instead of worrying about the resigning.

Now, if we can duct tape OCL's mouth shut so he doesn't blurt out something like the highest paid defenseman in the league when he gets in front of cameras. I have no problem paying him Makar money, and we don't have to worry about paying Rossi and Buium at the end of their deals. 

Going forward, with a signed Hughes, I can see this team being easily able to recruit bottom 6ers for reasonable prices, and have a contingency plan for injuries in Iowa. 

Also, and I don't like this, I felt it was telling that Kierstad was called up instead of Lambos yesterday. He had to plug and play.  I thought Lambos had a pretty good camp, and he has been playing better in Iowa. I haven't raised the bust flag yet, but I certainly know where it is, and am very disappointed since I've been really high on him being a top 4 kind of defender. 

Yesterday, I thought Jiricek looked a lot better. He seemed to have calmed down, made some really nice stretch passes, but also got knocked around a bit. Did anyone else feel like Ottawa was a bit of a cheap shot team? I'm getting that feeling. I cannot believe that Tkachuk had 2 crosschecks sending Hunt head first into the boards, walked away from the play with the puck, and then after the whistle went and mauled Ek, all without a penalty. 

Ek's goal was great at the end, and I'd consider it justice served! I was expecting Hughes to debut with the Wild yesterday, as I'd heard through the Devils' broadcast that Buium, Rossi, and Ohgren were already practicing with Vancouver. But, I also didn't realize we had an afternoon game and Guerin probably didn't get the plane back in time. Secretly, I'm hoping within the next year, Hughes falls in love with a nice MN girl who has a very close family and doesn't want to leave 😎

[FredJohnson]

22 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

Faber + Hughes 

Spurge + Midds? 

Brodin + Bogo? 

I'd go:

Faber-Hughes

Spurge-JoBro

Midds-Bogo

Spurge and JoBro were the most dominant d-pairing last season. And this assumes that Faber and Hughes gel well.

Let's go!

[Up North Guy]

17 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Yesterday, I thought Jiricek looked a lot better. He seemed to have calmed down, made some really nice stretch passes, but also got knocked around a bit. Did anyone else feel like Ottawa was a bit of a cheap shot team? I'm getting that feeling. I cannot believe that Tkachuk had 2 crosschecks sending Hunt head first into the boards, walked away from the play with the puck, and then after the whistle went and mauled Ek, all without a penalty.

Ottawa got away with a whole lot of crap. The refs were really poor. I sensed that the Wild were holding back for fear of retribution penalties and fines. 

[Sam]

41 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Window 97™️

Because Microsoft already has Windows 98 trademarked.

[FredJohnson]

We got a top-10 player by some national standards.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/46582574/nhl-2025-26-rankings-top-100-players-predictions-stats

 

https://news.rinkhive.com/2025/10/21/top-100-nhl-players-2025-26-rankings/

Edited Sunday at 05:05 PM by FredJohnson
Added

[Imyourhuckleberry]

21 minutes ago, FredJohnson said:

We got a top-10 player by some national standards.

We'll find out. Kaprizov is considered a top 10 player.

Kaprizov, Boldy, JEE, Zuccarello, and Hughes might just be one of the most dangerous power plays in all of hockey, if Hynes plays Hughes on PP1...

Edited Sunday at 05:26 PM by Imyourhuckleberry

[Pewterschmidt]

56 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Yesterday, I thought Jiricek looked a lot better. He seemed to have calmed down

I do not agree here. I saw some of the same mental blunders from the Jiri Project™️.  This kid has played multiple seasons in the ahl and has been intensely tutored along the way and he’s too stubborn to keep himself from being too stupid.  I’m beginning to think Button’s hit the nail on the head with his prognosis.  3rd pair guy.  I know no negativity during the Hughes trade hopium window.  I’ll go back to planning the parade route

[Dango]

Of course ,Foligno and Jake were out you can expect some extra shenanigans from the tough guys . 

[Pewterschmidt]

Zboo #24 with a second assist on pp1 early in first   Rossi #93 and Ogz #92 also in lineup

[Pewterschmidt]

JFC zboo scores a goal on second power play.  I need to turn this off

Edited Sunday at 05:57 PM by Pewterschmidt

[Tony Abbott]

On 12/13/2025 at 11:17 AM, MacGyver said:

What will it take to resign Hughes? Makar money whatever that is going to be? Then you got $17M into what could be your third best player on the team behind Hughes and maybe Boldy if he keeps trending. Hughes may make Kaprizov's contract look like you over paid for Kaprizov which I felt is true from the start. 

You don't get Hughes if Kaprizov splits, IMO. 

[Pewterschmidt]

1 minute ago, Tony Abbott said:

You don't get Hughes if Kaprizov splits, IMO. 

As much as I’d like to complain about the overpay, I agree.  97 + Q = ?    Gonna be fun to see what comes next

[Pewterschmidt]

Watching the Devils play the Canucks right now I’m beginning to think that Quinn Hughes’s decision to resign a year from now will be with which team he thinks has the best chance to win a cup over the next few years. I can’t imagine he’d sign with the devils if it’s looking like they are not on a path for the cup while we hopefully are on that path.

[Tony Abbott]

I think we're going to find out extremely quickly just how different Hughes is from the extremely good collection of defensemen the Wild have had over the years. Hughes is a cheat code. 

 

[MacGyver]

4 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Watching the Devils play the Canucks right now I’m beginning to think that Quinn Hughes’s decision to resign a year from now will be with which team he thinks has the best chance to win a cup over the next few years. I can’t imagine he’d sign with the devils if it’s looking like they are not on a path for the cup while we hopefully are on that path.

Seems the Devils are in the mix most of the time but aren't there quite yet. You have to know the Hughes brothers have to think how winning a Stanley Cup with all of them on the same team would cement them in hockey history for all time. That's a dream awful hard to pass up without even giving it a shot. This move to the Wild maybe just a holding pattern to allow the Devils to make a move before bringing Quinn into the fold. 

[FredJohnson]

30 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Watching the Devils play the Canucks right now I’m beginning to think that Quinn Hughes’s decision to resign a year from now will be with which team he thinks has the best chance to win a cup over the next few years. I can’t imagine he’d sign with the devils if it’s looking like they are not on a path for the cup while we hopefully are on that path.

Would he sign with the team that can pay him the most?

Asking for a friend.

Edited Sunday at 06:41 PM by FredJohnson
Doh!

[FredJohnson]

4 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Seems the Devils are in the mix most of the time but aren't there quite yet. You have to know the Hughes brothers have to think how winning a Stanley Cup with all of them on the same team would cement them in hockey history for all time. That's a dream awful hard to pass up without even giving it a shot. This move to the Wild maybe just a holding pattern to allow the Devils to make a move before bringing Quinn into the fold. 

Come on over Hughes boys!

 

[FredJohnson]

17 minutes ago, Tony Abbott said:

I think we're going to find out extremely quickly just how different Hughes is from the extremely good collection of defensemen the Wild have had over the years. Hughes is a cheat code. 

 

Holy fook! He and KK97 can keep possession of the puck for a half hour if they're on the ice together. 😮

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I do not agree here. I saw some of the same mental blunders from the Jiri Project™️.  This kid has played multiple seasons in the ahl and has been intensely tutored along the way and he’s too stubborn to keep himself from being too stupid.  I’m beginning to think Button’s hit the nail on the head with his prognosis.  3rd pair guy.  I know no negativity during the Hughes trade hopium window.  I’ll go back to planning the parade route

Yeah I saw some of that, too. Trenin gets beat off the puck too much, too, IMHO.

[Pewterschmidt]

2 minutes ago, FredJohnson said:

Trenin gets beat off the puck too much, too

Trenin is a pylon that hits that costs $3.5M AAV which is at least a 35% overpay.  The Jiri project™️is a prospect that cost us a 1, 2,3 &4th + Hunt.   If he doesn’t become a top 4 D this trade will obliterate Guerin’s min 35% standard overpay policy

i know, hopium only today

[FredJohnson]

1 minute ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Trenin is a pylon that hits that costs $3.5M AAV which is at least a 35% overpay.  The Jiri project™️is a prospect that cost us a 1, 2,3 &4th + Hunt.   If he doesn’t become a top 4 D this trade will obliterate Guerin’s min 35% standard overpay policy

i know, hopium only today

😂🤣

[ArizonaWildFan]

On 12/13/2025 at 11:31 AM, Pablo said:

Yurov (i) isnt just along for the ride.

I went all in on Yurov after his response to the Dunn hit on Zuccarello. He's now officially one of us. Kaprizov has proven in the past that he plays well with those he is comfortable with and has chemistry with (Hartman, Rossi, Steel, Zuccarello) who are not stars in the league. Yurov doesn't have to be a star, just Robin to Batman.