Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Minnesota Wild
MPR News Staff

Minnesota Wild owner: Team will re-sign star defenseman Quinn Hughes

Capitals Wild Hockey
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (right) waits for play to resume during the second period of a game against Washington on Dec. 16, 2025, in St. Paul.
Abbie Parr | AP file

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

The owner of the Minnesota Wild reiterated Wednesday that the team intends to re-sign star defenseman Quinn Hughes.

In a conversation with MPR host Angela Davis, Craig Leipold said Hughes “is an extraordinary player and an extraordinary person. We had to give up a lot to get him in this past year. We are going to re-sign him.”

Hughes joined the Wild in a blockbuster midseason trade with Vancouver last December — and he also helped the U.S. win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in February, alongside his brother Jack.

His current contract runs through the upcoming season — after which he’ll be an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t sign a new deal with Minnesota before then.

The Wild want to keep Hughes. And Hughes said last month, after Minnesota was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, that he’s interested in staying with the Wild.

Leipold told MPR on Wednesday that one unresolved question is the length of a new contract.

“We would like to go as long as we could. He would probably want it to be a little shorter — shorter being maybe three years. Hopefully we’ll end up at five,” he said.

But Leipold added a caveat: “The reason I can openly talk about this is that I’m not doing the negotiating.”

Speaking to his relationship with Wild general manager Bill Guerin, and any input he offers on personnel decisions, Leipold said “I have a voice, and Billy knows it’s just a voice — that I am first a fan of the Wild, and I’m second the owner. And when I give him recommendations and ideas, I’m giving it to him as a fan.”

Leipold’s comments on Quinn Hughes were part of a much longer conversation on MPR News with Angela Davis. Listen to the entire conversation here.