ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Friday, Cale Makar set a new market for superstar defensemen. Now we’ll see if doing so kick-starts the Minnesota Wild’s negotiations with Quinn Hughes, with training camp less than three weeks away and the start of the season in less than five.At least now, there’s a legitimate comparable contract.Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner and a former Calder Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, became the NHL’s first $20 million man, signing an eight-year, $163.2 million extension that will kick in July 1, 2027. That’s a $20.4 million average annual value. The max Makar could have received is 20 percent of the $104 million 2026-27 cap, or $20.8 million annually, so he came within a hair of that.Hughes, who also has won a Norris Trophy, is entering the final year of his contract and would become a free agent July 1 if he doesn’t extend before then. If he signs before July 1, he would max out at a $20.8 million AAV. If he waited until after July 1 to sign with another team, he’d be allowed to max out at 20 percent of the 2027-28 cap, which is expected to be $113.5 million. That’d be a $22.7 million AAV.However, the max term he could sign for on another team after July 1 would be six years. He would be allowed to sign an eight-year deal, like Makar, if he re-signs before Sept. 15. If the extension came after, the max term would be seven years under the new CBA.Of course, term may not be the issue, because Hughes seems to want a shorter deal, as most of today’s stars have been signing.In fact, earlier this summer, when Wild owner Craig Leipold appeared on Minnesota Public Radio, he said that the team would “want to go as long as we could” but that Hughes “would probably want it to be a little shorter — maybe three years.”“Hopefully we’ll end up at five,” Leipold said.Why sports leagues finally embraced Las VegasTifo SportsThe Wild have been in talks with Hughes and his agent, Pat Brisson, throughout the summer and remain confident that they can get an extension done before the start of the season. They’ve gone over different concepts of what a deal might look like, from term to average annual value to contract structure.Hughes, who has been training in Michigan and Florida over the past month, is expected to return to Minnesota on Sept. 10 after representing the Wild at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas with teammate Matt Boldy.