NHL-ийн хамгаалагчдын зах зээлд шинэ жишиг тогтоосон Кэйл Макарын гэрээ нь Миннесота Уайлд багийн ахлах удирдлагуудын анхаарлыг татаж эхэллээ.
Колорадо Эвеланш багийн хамгаалагч Кэйл Макар 8 жилийн хугацаатай, 163.2 сая ам.долларын өртөг бүхий гэрээг үзэглэснээр NHL-ийн түүхэнд жилийн дундаж үнэлгээ нь 20 сая ам.доллар давсан анхны тоглогч боллоо. Энэхүү үйл явдал нь гэрээний хугацаа нь дуусч буй Миннесота Уайлд багийн хамгаалагч Куинн Хьюзийн шинэ гэрээний хэлэлцээрт шууд нөлөөлөх хүлээлт үүсгэж байна. Куинн Хьюз ирэх долоодугаар сарын 1-нээс чөлөөт агент болох тул багийн удирдлагууд түүнтэй улирал эхлэхээс өмнө гэрээгээ сунгахыг зорьж байна.
Миннесота Уайлд багийн эзэн Крэйг Лейполд баг нь урт хугацааны гэрээ байгуулах сонирхолтой байгаа ч тоглогчийн зүгээс 3-5 жилийн богино хугацааг илүүд үзэж байгааг онцолжээ. Гэсэн хэдий ч багийн зүгээс Куинн Хьюзийг багтаа авч үлдэхийн тулд санхүүгийн томоохон амлалт өгөх шаардлагатай байгаа юм. Учир нь тус баг түүнийг солилцоогоор авахдаа дөрвөн нэгдүгээр тойргийн сонголттой тэнцэхүйц тоглогч болон эрхийг бусад багт шилжүүлсэн тул түүнийг багтаа үлдээх нь “ялах” зорилтын хүрээнд нэн тэргүүний асуудал болоод байна.
Куинн Хьюз одоогоор Мичиган болон Флоридад бэлтгэлээ базааж байгаа бөгөөд есдүгээр сарын 10-нд Лас-Вегаст болох NHL-ийн хэвлэлийн арга хэмжээнд оролцсоныхоо дараа Миннесотад ирэх төлөвтэй байна. Ерөнхий менежер Билл Герин багийн бүрэлдэхүүнийг амжилт гаргах боломжтой энэ үед нь чанаржуулах зорилго тавьж байгаа бөгөөд талууд гэрээний хугацаа, жилийн дундаж үнэлгээ болон бүтцийн талаарх яриа хэлэлцээг үргэлжлүүлсээр байна.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Friday, Cale Makar set a new market for superstar defensemen. Now we’ll see if that kick-starts the Minnesota Wild’s negotiations with Quinn Hughes.
With training camp less than three weeks away and the start of the season in less than five, Hughes and the Wild have a legitimate comparable contract as a potential guide.
Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner and a former Calder Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, became the NHL’s first $20 million man, signing an eight-year, $163.2 million extension that will kick in July 1, 2027. That’s a $20.4 million average annual value. The max Makar could have received is 20 percent of the $104 million 2026-27 cap, or $20.8 million annually, so he came within a hair of that.
Hughes, who also has won a Norris Trophy, is entering the final year of his contract and would become a free agent July 1 if he doesn’t extend before then. If he signs before July 1, he would max out at a $20.8 million AAV. If he waited until after July 1 to sign with another team, he’d be allowed to max out at 20 percent of the 2027-28 cap, which is expected to be $113.5 million. That would be a $22.7 million AAV.
However, the max term he could sign for on another team after July 1 would be six years. He can sign an eight-year deal, like Makar, if he re-signs before Sept. 15. If the extension came after, the max term would be seven years under the new CBA.
Of course, term might not be the issue with Hughes, who seems to want a shorter deal, as most of today’s stars have been signing.
In fact, earlier this summer, when Wild owner Craig Leipold appeared on Minnesota Public Radio, he said that the team would “want to go as long as we could” but that Hughes “would probably want it to be a little shorter — maybe three years.”
“Hopefully we’ll end up at five,” Leipold said.
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The Wild have been in talks with Hughes and his agent, Pat Brisson, throughout the summer and remain confident that they can get an extension done before the start of the season. They’ve gone over different concepts of what a deal might look like, from term to average annual value to contract structure.
Hughes, who has been training in Michigan and Florida over the past month, is expected to return to Minnesota on Sept. 10 after representing the Wild with teammate Matt Boldy at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas.
The changing landscape in NHL salaries over the past year is part of what’s made negotiations like Hughes’ increasingly complicated, and Makar’s is the new standard.
Makar’s $20.4 million AAV surpasses the Chicago Blackhawks’ Bowen Byram ($12.5 million AAV over six years) as the largest AAV signed by a defenseman. Byram’s extension is also set to begin in 2027-28.
Theoretically, by this comp, Hughes’ AAV should be less than Makar’s $20.4 million if he signs for three to five years. But, like last September when the Wild felt pressure to give Kirill Kaprizov the then-largest contract in NHL history (eight years, $136 million, $17 million AAV), there is immense pressure to re-sign Hughes.
The Wild couldn’t afford to let Kaprizov walk. Similarly, since they took the risk of trading the equivalent of four first-round picks (Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Öhgren and a 2026 first-rounder) for Hughes without the guarantee of an extension, there is incredible pressure to re-up Hughes after giving up such a large package.
President of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has said the franchise is in “win now” mode more than ever and that it needs to take advantage of this window.
Kaprizov’s eye-popping $17 million AAV deal set a new bar, both league-wide and with the Wild. The Wild structured Kaprizov’s deal to give him $128 million of his $136 million in annual July 1 signing bonuses. Hughes could want a large chunk in signing bonuses, too, which would be quite a financial commitment for Leipold.
Makar received $127.6 million in signing bonuses, according to league sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss contract details that aren’t public.
As The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn wrote earlier this summer, Hughes’ market value on an eight-year deal was $17.8 million. It went down to $17.7 million on a five-year deal and $17.5 million on a three-year deal.
Luszczyszyn has Makar at $21.6 million.
But Hughes’ market value could be irrelevant for three reasons: 1) The internal pressure to re-sign him; 2) The fact Makar created this new bar, and Hughes is the only defenseman in the same tier; and 3) Kaprizov signed for 16.3 percent of the cap, which would already be $18.5 million in relation to the 2027-28 $113.5 million cap ceiling.
After Kaprizov’s blockbuster deal last fall, this summer’s offer sheet by the Philadelphia Flyers for young Anaheim Ducks star Leo Carlsson (which Anaheim matched at an $18 million AAV) continued to push the envelope. Macklin Celebrini, already one of the game’s top players at 20 years old, then signed a five-year deal with a then-league-record $18.8 million AAV.
Hughes will earn $8.25 million this season and carry a cap hit of $7.85 million.
Like Makar, Hughes is among the game’s best overall players — “in the top group of stars” regardless of position, analyst and former GM Craig Button told The Athletic — and they will both be paid like it on their next deals, one way or another.
