Wild GM sounds hopeless about re-signing ex-Canucks captain Hughes
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin is in a bit of a pickle right now.
The Wild are currently first in the Central Division and are tied in points with the Edmonton Oilers for first in the Western Conference.
One of the big reasons for that success, however, is former Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who is second in scoring among NHL defencemen with 18 points in 14 games.
And Hughes doesn’t have a contract for next season.
Of course, that’s not new information. This has been a major talking point for Minnesota media and fans since Hughes didn’t re-sign with the Wild after they acquired him from the Canucks.
“What am I gonna do, go, ‘Please, please, please, please?'”
Guerin paid a significant price for Hughes, sending a first-round pick and three former first-round picks — Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren — to the Canucks. It’s entirely possible that he’ll only get one-and-a-half seasons of Hughes before he leaves in free agency, potentially to go play with his brothers in New Jersey.
Understandably, when Guerin was interviewed on the Chad Hartman Show on WCCO News Talk 830, he was asked about the Hughes situation.
He didn’t exactly sound confident about his ability to re-sign the Norris-winning defenceman.
“Whatever will happen, will happen, and right now the only person that knows what’s going on in Quinn’s head is Quinn, and that’s okay,” said Guerin.
When asked about how often he talks to Hughes and his agent about a contract, Guerin was blunt.
“I have not talked to them about this in a long time,” said Guerin. “To be honest with you, there’s nothing really to talk about right now. What am I gonna do, go, ‘Please, please, please, please?'”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do”
Eventually, Guerin is going to have to make a decision. If it becomes completely clear that Hughes won’t re-sign in Minnesota — as it became clear he wouldn’t re-sign in Vancouver — Guerin will need to decide if he should keep Hughes for one last playoff run or trade him to another Stanley Cup contender and try to recoup some of the assets he traded to the Canucks.
“At some point in time, I’ll have to try to figure things out and see what’s best for the team,” said Guerin. “I know one thing’s for sure: having Quinn on our team is what’s best for the team. And, you know, I don’t know. I’ll be completely honest with you, I don’t know.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what I’m going to do. There’s no date. What we’re doing right now is focusing on our team and trying to win hockey games. That’s really it. I think some people want to make this more complicated than it really is — being the media. And it’s not that complicated.”
One has to wonder if the reason why it’s so simple is that Guerin already knows whether or not Hughes will re-sign with the Wild.