Hughes said following this season that he was open to re-signing with Minnesota.<\/p>\n
“I mean, I really like it here,” Hughes said May 15, two days after the Wild were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche with a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round. “We’ll see what Billy wants to do.”<\/p>\n
Guerin said three days later that re-signing Hughes was the top priority for the Wild this offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe loved having Quinn,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cHe was so impactful, he\u2019s extremely dialed in on what\u2019s going on here. I know he liked it here, I know he likes the team. The team really embraced him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019s priority (No.) 1.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes had 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games this season, including 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) in 48 games following the trade. He was second among NHL defensemen in assists, behind Evan Bouchard<\/a>\u00a0of the Edmonton Oilers (74), and eighth overall.<\/p>\n