Quinn Hughes will sign a three-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $18 million sometime in July.
What is the predicted contract extension?
The predicted contract extension is a three-year deal with an average annual value of $18 million.
Why is this deal significant for Quinn Hughes?
This deal will make Quinn Hughes one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.
Quinn Hughes' ability to command another massive contract in just a few years makes a shorter-term extension a realistic possibility.
What does this mean for the Minnesota Wild?
The Minnesota Wild's top priority is securing Quinn Hughes after acquiring him in a blockbuster trade last December.
Wild owner Craig Leipold acknowledged that the organization would prefer to lock Hughes up for a longer term but admitted a shorter contract could ultimately be the outcome.
On the other hand, a shorter-term extension has long been viewed as a possibility given the rising salary cap.
Elliotte Friedman, one of hockey's top insiders, made this prediction in his annual NHL free agency prediction piece.
Friedman's prediction suggests that Hughes will become one of the highest-paid players in the NHL while positioning himself to cash in again before turning 30.