Cale Makar's new contract puts spotlight on Quinn Hughes and the Wild.

On Friday, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar became the NHL's first $20 million dollar man when he signed a massive 8 year contract that carries an average annual value of $20.4 million per season. It is the largest contract in the history of the National Hockey League and one that will have ramifications that extend far beyond Cale Makar and the Avalanche.

The deal immediately puts the spotlight back on Minnesota Wild star defenseman Quinn Hughes, a player that the Wild took a major risk in acquiring from the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild gave up a huge ransom for Hughes, sending defenseman Zeeb Buium, forward Marco Rossi, prospect Liam Oghren and a 2026 first round pick to the Canucks all in exchange for Hughes.

It was a bold move on the part of Wild general manager Bill Guerin but one that also came with a major risk, Hughes' came with a contract set to expire at the end of the 2026-27 season.

For now Guerin and the Wild will have an incredible trump card in negotiations, the ability to offer Hughes an 8 year contract before those contracts become a thing of the past on September 15th of this year under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement. That however only gives them a roughly two and a half week window to get a deal of that nature across the finish line, and with Makar setting a new benchmark for defensemen in the NHL those negotiations may have just become even more challenging.

The nightmare scenario is Hughes simply refusing to sign a new deal and walking away as an unrestricted free agent after the Wild gave up a king's ransom to acquire him, but NHL insider Elliotte Friedman believes it's still too early to panic just yet.

"I don't have any panic about it yet... I would worry about this if it's not done by the start of the season," said Friedman earlier this summer. "That's just my personal feeling. If it's not done by the start of the season then I'll start to say 'Hey what's going on here?'"

We are now however rapidly approaching the start of the season with that date set for September 29th, exactly one month away, and there's no question that pressure is rapidly starting to rise for Wild GM Bill Guerin.

Many believed this deal would have been done by now.

"I thought it would have been done by now, I admit I am surprised," admitted Friedman.