TORONTO — The Minnesota Wild are on a 126-point pace through the first quarter, and one of their best players is set to make his season debut on Saturday night after fracturing his skull in September.
That’s not a typo. The Wild are tied for the best record in the West — and Brock Faber has not played a game yet.
Given that, shouldn’t the Wild put a stake in the ground and keep Quinn Hughes for a playoff run, whether or not he’s indicated he’s willing to sign?
The Wild are yearning for a deep playoff run in Minnesota. They have the team to compete. And they have one of the boldest general managers in the league who might be willing to let a generational defenceman walk out the door on July 1 as a free agent.
It’s certainly a possibility that Guerin is considering.
“Yeah,” Guerin said on Tuesday at the GM Meetings, when asked if he’d be willing to keep Hughes beyond the deadline without a commitment to stay longer. “As of today, yeah. I don’t know. But if you ask me in two or three months, it might be a different answer. We’ll have to see.”
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Deleting Hughes from the roster by March would not only disrupt Minnesota’s chance to win, but it might be an extraordinarily difficult transaction to get equal value. Although Hughes doesn’t officially have no-trade protection and control, how many teams would give up a haul if guaranteed, at most, three months? How much would Hughes influence the process with willingness to sign an extension? There are many layers.
Just as Guerin said he isn’t going to plead and beg for Hughes to sign, he doesn’t believe in putting a date on it, either.
“I’m not putting deadlines on anybody, saying by this date or that date,” Guerin said. “I’m just kind of living day by day. At some point, we’re going to need to have some kind of discussion. But everyone knows where everyone stands. He knows. He’s got all of the information he needs. He knows how much we like him and how much we want to keep him. He’s just got to figure out what he wants to do.”
That’s why Guerin has put the emphasis on Hughes focusing on playing. The results speak for themselves: Hughes is the second-fastest defenceman to reach 80 points with a franchise in league history. He hit 80 points on Tuesday night, in 68 games with the Wild since last December’s trade; only Paul Coffey was faster with the Pittsburgh Penguins, doing it in 53 games.
Guerin laughed.
“I think everyone imagines we’re having these intense negotiations every single day,” he said. “We don’t talk about it, really. I think because I’ve been in that spot before, I understand it maybe a little more, it’s not personal. It’s a life decision that he has to make and it’s his decision. I get it.”
There is no elephant in the room in Minnesota because Guerin and Hughes wouldn’t let it through the door. Part of that is Hughes’ mellow personality, part of it is Guerin’s straight-shooting approach. Guerin said the rest of the roster deserves credit for just playing well.
“I think Quinn has managed it really well and I think the team has managed it really well,” Guerin said. “There’s no issues. They’re not having a (expletive) pow-wow in there about it every single day. I think, as players, that’s Quinn’s business. It’s not their business. Status quo. It’s good.”
Michkov’s minutes rise
It’s neither a surprise nor coincidence that Matvei Michkov skated north of 20 minutes for just the second time this season — and second time in 102 games under coach Rick Tocchet — on Wednesday night in Edmonton.
The Flyers’ entire front office descended on Edmonton, including team chairman and CEO Dan Hilferty, president of hockey operations Keith Jones and general manager Danny Briere. Hilferty does attend road games from time to time, but Edmonton is not a normal stop on the tour and not exactly around the corner.
Briere has addressed the Flyers locker room about Tuesday's in-game spat between Michkov and Nick Seeler captured by cameras in Vancouver. That was believed to be the third heated argument between Michkov and teammates in the last number of weeks.
The message was also clear to the coaching staff: the Flyers’ front office is both a big backer and believer of Michkov. They want him playing more.
Barzal close to return
Knock on wood for their fans that the New York Islanders are getting healthier. With Mathew Barzal soon to make his season debut, it will be interesting to see how coach Peter DeBoer deploys him: centre or wing?
The always-inquisitive Barzal asked GM Mathieu Darche recently: “How will this impact the lines?”
Aside from giving him the standard "coaches coach and managers manage" line, Darche is also curious to see how it all plays out. A strong start to the season by Brayden Schenn has given DeBoer some options. Barzal is one of the few players in the league capable of being a play driving winger if needed — a great problem to have on Long Island.
Slap shots
• GM John Chayka continues to work the market for a veteran, cost-controlled defenceman to add to the Maple Leafs. They want a player already locked in at a great rate and are open to re-imagining their roster to do it.
• One GM on the Blue Jackets roster: “We looked around the league and projected out the next few years. I’m not sure there is a team in worse shape than Columbus.”
• How soon until Cole Hutson gets a crack running the first power play in Washington? He’s been fantastic, with five goals and 11 points in 16 games. That’s a 26-goal pace from the blue line. Only thing: Jakob Chychrun scored 26 last year, too.
• Always great to see "The Senator," Serge Savard, walk the red carpet at the Hockey Hall of Fame induction on Monday night. Can we all look that good when we’re 80?
