One of the big storylines at this point of the summer is on the contract extension front.  Several prominent pending unrestricted free agents have yet to sign new deals, leading to speculation about their futures.  One of those is Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes.  While many expect him to sign a three-year extension that lines up his contract timeline with his brother Jack Hughes (Luke Hughes has six years left), it hasn’t happened yet.  Michael Russo of The Athletic relays word from multiple league sources that the 26-year-old’s intentions are still to eventually sign a new deal with Minnesota.  However, the rapid changes to the market this summer – particularly the higher-end players – have certainly made the process harder.  It stands to reason that a deal will check in higher than Kirill Kaprizov’s $17MM price tag; it’s just a matter of how much more and when the deal ultimately gets finalized.

More from out West:

• Earlier this week, the Golden Knights added some extra forward depth in their system. Their AHL affiliate in Henderson announced the signing of Shane Smith to a one-year deal.  The 21-year-old split last season between WHL Lethbridge and Kelowna, potting 33 goals and 35 assists in 61 games in his final year of major junior eligibility.  Smith attended development camp with Vegas back in 2024.
• Ryan Marsh, who worked with the Oilers as a coaching consultant last season, will not return to the club this year, relays Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Instead, Marsh is off to the KHL, accepting an assistant coaching position with Shanghai.  Marsh has moved around a lot in recent years, spending time in the WHL, DEL, AJHL, BCHL, and NHL over the last five seasons.
• After being non-tendered by Dallas earlier this summer, forward Samu Tuomaala has found a new team. SHL Linkoping announced that they’ve signed the 23-year-old to a one-year deal.  A second-round pick by Philadelphia back in 2020, Tuomaala had a couple of decent AHL seasons in 2023-24 and 2024-25 (including a 43-point campaign) but he was limited to just 19 games last season, where he had 10 points.  That wasn’t enough to secure a qualifying offer or an offer from another NHL team, as it turns out.