Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold has tried to put any trade rumors involving Quinn Hughes to rest.

Leipold — in an interview on Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday — said that the team will find a way to sign its No. 1 defenseman to a long-term contract extension when he becomes eligible on July 1.

“First of all, Quinn Hughes is an extraordinary player and an extraordinary person,” Leipold said. “We had to give up a lot to get him in this past year. We are going to re-sign him. The question will be for how long. We would like to go as long as we can. He will probably want it to be a little shorter — shorter being maybe three years. We hopefully will end up at five, I don’t know, and the reason I can openly talk about this is that I’m not doing the negotiating.”

The Wild acquired Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick in December. The 26-year-old is entering the final season of a six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85 million average annual value), meaning he is eligible to sign an extension on July 1.

This offseason has already seen several American-born players involved in trades and the rumor mill. Brady Tkachuk was dealt to the Florida Panthers, while Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin, and Zach Werenski — three teammates of Hughes at the 2026 Olympics — are also expected to be in play during this offseason.

Hughes has long been connected to New Jersey because his brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the Devils. His former general manager in Vancouver, Jim Rutherford, went as far as telling the media that Hughes “wants to play with his brothers” last offseason.

General manager Bill Guerin agrees with Leipold, saying that re-signing Hughes is a major priority in the offseason.

“We loved having Quinn,” Guerin noted. “He was so impactful, he’s extremely dialed in on what’s going on here. I know he liked it here, I know he likes the team. The team really embraced him. I love having him here, and the impact that he had on our team was incredible. These are things that take time, and I think everybody needs a little bit of time to decompress, but that’s priority number one.”

Hughes made an immediate impact in Minnesota, tallying 53 points in 48 games for the Wild. He was also impactful during the Wild’s playoff run, having 15 points, which tied him with young superstar Kaprizov. 

The Wild were eliminated in the the second round against the Colorado Avalanche.