Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff joined TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked when we might see some movement from Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar? Does one anticipate the other, and how has the market changed in terms of the value of these top defenders?
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Host: “There are some big names that will be in play here, right? The question mark is always around Auston Matthews, but more so Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, and Quinn Hughes. Like, when should we expect, as hockey fans, to leave Matthews out of the conversation because he seems to be locked in between other little things that we expect? here, and what do we look for from time to time?”
Anthony Di Marco: “Like Matthews and McDavid’s contract, and if they’re going to be removed instead of reuniting with their teams, like that kind of discussion?”
Host: “Yeah, or news coverage, or maybe dollars and cents. Like the Hughes team will wait for Makar? Will Makar wait for Hughes? How does that play out?”
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Di Marco: “Yes, I think that Bowen Byram is kind of setting the stage here, and now you even see the effect of pulling down with Jamie Drysdale. I think that the Flyers thought that they would be able to get into the fives, and by all accounts, they will be lucky if they get him in the six, depending obviously on the conditions (4 million Drysdale signed a four-year AAV).
But as for Quinn Hughes, I mean, he deserves an extension. I think we see him sign an extension, maybe three to four years, and I think Makar has two years in unrestricted free agency, so he has to wait until next July 1 before signing a contract.
But I think Leo Carlsson’s contract sets the stage for everyone here. So maybe I think you see Quinn Hughes doing, I would say with Kirill Kaprizov’s number, maybe $15 million-$16 million, for a short term deal because how much money can Bill Guerin throw. And there they are in Dylan Larkin.
And when it comes to Cale Makar, he will probably be the richest player in the NHL when he signs his contract next year.
As for Matthews and McDavid, Simon, it’s weird there because McDavid is obviously okay with taking a pay cut and taking a discount to give the Oilers the last track here to continue. As for Matthews, he doesn’t mind the pay cut. Every time he signs a new contract, he seems to be setting a new precedent, whether it’s to replace a UFA or earn money. Now what is he doing, $13.25 million, if I remember correctly. So I think defensively, we’re going to see it go up quickly because of what we’ve seen with Byram.
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But even on the forward side, Leo Carlsson getting that big contract is going to be the highest paid player going into this upcoming season, so I think in the next 12 months we’re going to start to see that change, especially when this big contract extension inevitably happens. “
NHLRumors.com Note: There is a lot of talk coming out of Minnesota when it comes to Quinn Hughes, from them getting close to a deal, to being very optimistic, and there is nothing new to report. The owner of the Wild wants to pay him whatever he wants, but Minnesota’s cap situation is a problem, as Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov could be the two highest paid players on the team. But who is scoring for the Wild?
Again, it’s a waiting game with the player controlling where he wants to go. While Hughes is talking about a big game, he has yet to sign a contract. Are there other forces driving this discussion?
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As far as Cale Makar, the Avalanche know what the number is; that’s why they released players like Mikko Rantanen, Jack Drury, Ross Colton, and Valeri Nichushkin to free up the cap space needed to sign him to a new deal.
But given the market and how the young defenseman is being paid, you have to think both could get more than $15 million in new deals.
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