NHL Rumour Roundup: Where do contract talks stand for Hughes, Makar?

This summer has been a fascinating off-season of big-money contracts, thanks to an influx of cap space (and another such wave on the horizon), an eyebrow-raising offer sheet in Anaheim, and a long list of elite extension-eligible players. 

That two of those players happen to be generational blue-line talents makes things all the more intriguing. 

In a surprise late-August edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast published Tuesday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman checked in on where talks stand between the Minnesota Wild and Quinn Hughes as well as the Colorado Avalanche and Cale Makar.

Let’s start with Hughes, as negotiations have stretched much further into the off-season than most people expected. 

“It has surprised me a little bit about how long this has taken with Hughes,” Friedman said on the podcast. “I’ll be concerned if it’s not done at the start of the season.”

With puck drop on the 2026-27 campaign just over a month away, there’s still plenty of time for the two sides to hash out Hughes’ next contract.

“I don’t think there have been a lot of talks recently between Hughes and the Wild,” Friedman said. 

Hughes, 26, enters the sixth and final year of the $47.1-million pact he signed with the Vancouver Canucks back in October 2021. Whatever he signs for next, his average annual value should easily more than double his current cap hit of $7.85 million. It would be surprising if it didn’t. Perhaps the more interesting element here, then, is the term. 

Friedman has previously said he believes Hughes prefers a shorter- to mid-range term, suggesting a three-year deal. 

Could a Makar deal be coming before camp?

Of course, Hughes isn’t the only elite defenceman eligible to sign an extension — and that could be part of why things are taking a little longer than expected. 

“I’ve kind of wondered if maybe Hughes and Makar are kind of eyeing each other about what the numbers are,” said Friedman. “And part of me has wondered if maybe they’re looking to see who will go first.”

Friedman said Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic expects Makar to be signed before the start of the season. There is precedent there — when Colorado inked Nathan MacKinnon to his eight-year extension totalling just over $100 million ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, the two sides officially signed and announced the deal at the team’s golf tournament at the beginning of that year’s training camp.

Friedman wondered aloud whether the organization might look to do the same with Makar. It would certainly set a celebratory tone to open the season. 

Much like the speculation surrounding Hughes, the term is also a point of intrigue for Makar. 

Makar turns 28 at the end of October. A five- or six-year term now could mean, as Friedman notes, “it’s probably his last big deal.” A three-year deal, on the other hand — like the one Hughes is rumoured to be looking at — points to him still signing another big deal at age 30 or 31. 

Red Wings still searching for new GM

Friedman kicked off Tuesday’s podcast by providing a small update on the Detroit Red Wings’ GM search — and the one name he finds most intriguing. 

“Jeff Greenberg is the name here that interests me,” Friedman said.

Greenberg has spent the past three years with the Detroit Tigers as the MLB club’s general manager. Prior to that, he spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant general manager with the Chicago Blackhawks and was also part of the Chicago Cubs’ front office. 

Friedman said he believes Greenberg is still in the mix for the Red Wings’ top job. 

“As long as he’s part of the process,” he explained, "he’s a name I’m watching, as long as he wishes to be considered.”