Quinn Hughes buzz explodes after Elliotte Friedman bombshell

The NHL free agency frenzy is underway, but one of the biggest stories of the day may not involve a player changing teams at all. Instead, it came from Elliotte Friedman, who made what he himself described as his “whopper pick” for the coming weeks.

On Wednesday as he made his predictions ahead of the opening of Free Agengy, Friedman predicted that Quinn Hughes will not make it to next season without a new contract. His expectation? A massive extension with the Minnesota Wild sometime later this month.

Even more eye-opening was the contract projection.

“Three years, $18 million, sometime in July. That’s my whopper pick,” Friedman wrote.

If that prediction comes to fruition, Hughes would instantly become one of the highest-paid players in the NHL and set a new financial benchmark for elite defensemen.

The timing of Friedman’s prediction is particularly interesting.

Several of the league’s biggest stars are now extension eligible, including Cale Makar, Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Leo Carlsson. Yet Friedman believes none of those players will sign with their current clubs on opening day of free agency.

“I don’t think Cale Makar, Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini or Leo Carlsson sign with their current teams Wednesday,” he went on.

Instead, Friedman believes Hughes will be the first blockbuster extension to fall.

The prediction comes just days after reports suggested Cale Makar is expected to seek a contract worth at least $17 million annually, potentially resetting the market for franchise defensemen. If Hughes indeed lands an $18 million cap hit, it would immediately leapfrog that number and send shockwaves throughout the league.

Whether Friedman’s prediction proves accurate remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: general managers around the NHL will be watching closely.

A deal of that magnitude would not only reshape the Minnesota Wild’s salary structure, it would also become the new measuring stick for every elite player preparing to negotiate their next contract.

Quinn Hughes is in the final year of a six-year, $47.1 million contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $7.85 million. Acquired by the Minnesota Wild in a blockbuster trade, he is eligible for a contract extension