​The Wild have been locked into negotiations with star defenseman Quinn Hughes all summer. Despite both sides saying they would like to extend the relationship past this upcoming season, so far no deal has been finalized, with just under a month until the regular season begins.Wild GM Bill Guerin said in several interviews at the State Fair on Monday that he was “confident” an extension would be worked out.However, an answer to a separate line of questioning has caught the ears of those in Canada. Guerin’s remarks about the team’s center position may have given us an insight into his targets if he fails to secure a Hughes extension.When asked by KFAN’s Dan Barreiro on Monday if he believes he has a No. 1 center, Guerin responded, “I like to think (Joel Eriksson Ek) is a No. 1 center. I think ideally he is the No. 2 center in the game.”It was the next part of Guerin’s quote that sent warning signs to several teams across the border.“When you talk about No. 1 centers, you’re talking about (Connor) McDavid and (Auston) Matthews. And guys like that, they just don’t come around all that often,” said Guerin. “Look, centers, they’re tough to come by. (At) any level. Honestly, we’re talking about depth guys, and we need centers. They’re just hard to come by.”Bill Guerin joins Dan Barreiro LIVE at the Fair! https://t.co/JfNsnPLz2G— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) August 31, 2026Guerin name-dropping McDavid and Matthews out of the blue set off alarm bells in Canada.“To any hockey fan of the Leafs or Oilers who just heard that, you need to realize something, in this moment,” said Toronto sports talk host Sid Seixeiro. “If you weren’t that interested in the Quinn Hughes story, you better get interested. Because you now are really rooting for the Minnesota Wild to sign this guy to a massive deal, and get out of the free agent market in two years’ time. Because, arguably, the most aggressive GM in hockey, in an unsolicited way, brought up two guys in Matthews and McDavid, who are about to be free agents in less than two years.“If they don’t sign Quinn Hughes in Minnesota, that money from owner Craig Leipold is sitting right there on the table. You better hope they sign Quinn Hughes in Minnesota, or there’s going to be an added market problem to Matthews’ free agency, and McDavid’s, that you might not have seen coming. And it’s not that far away in Minnesota.”Why is Bill Guerin, GM of the Minnesota Wild, talking about Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews? #sick#thesidseixeiroshow@Sid_Seixeiropic.twitter.com/diUwlMfkSp— The Sid Seixeiro Show (@sidseixeiroshow) September 1, 2026This isn’t the first time Guerin has mentioned Matthews. After the trade deadline passed in March, Guerin told TSN Radio in Canada, “I think the world of him.”Matthews captained the United States men’s hockey team to a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Guerin was the general manager who constructed the U.S. roste