Re-signing Quinn Hughes is top priority, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin says
The ice is still in at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, but the season is over for the Minnesota Wild.
Now the summer starts. It'll be a jam-packed one for Bill Guerin, the Wild's general manager. He made it abundantly clear that re-signing Quinn Hughes is at the top of the list.
"I know he likes the team," said Guerin. "The team really embraced him. I love having him here. The impact that he had on our team was incredible. So yeah, priority one."
Wheeling and dealing won't start for a while for the Wild. There's still some decompressing to do. Processing a disappointing playoff ending.
"For me personally, and I know in talking to John and some of the players, this is the worst one," said Guerin. "This one hurts the most because (of) the reality — I mean, real — reality of doing something special."
The postseason highlighted perhaps a good problem the Wild face: What to do with their two goalies, Filip Gustavsson, who will have hip surgery soon, and Jesper Wallstedt.
"Both of our goalies are number one goalies," said Guerin. "The luxury of it is being able to put a fresh, rested goalie in net every night. Both guys are signed. They're both very good. They work well in a tandem. They support each other. So, I'm very comfortable with where it is."
But Wallstedt could become a trade piece. If Hughes is atop the priority list, acquiring a top-line center is a close second. Guerin feels the urgency.
"We're in a window now," he said. "We're in a window where we have a very good team. So, we want to make sure we don't just open the window three-quarters of the way. If there's a chance for us to get better, we will."