The Minnesota Wild have been trying to trade for Dylan Larkin, but the Detroit Red Wings aren’t cooperating. With general manager Steve Yzerman’s history and his current status on the hot seat in Detroit, he has driven a hard bargain for the Wild to pry his captain away, even asking for Matt Boldy to be the centerpiece of the deal.
Teams like the Dallas Stars have also run into Yzerman’s high asking price as an obstacle and it may have the Wild pivoting to another solution. Although there aren’t many No. 1 centers available on the market, SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad theorized it might be more worth the Wild’s time to target New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes to fill the void and give another selling point to keep his brother, Quinn, in Minnesota.
“I did see a credible report now that Yzerman did indeed ask about Matt Boldy, which is not happening. They’re not trading Boldy,“ Zulgad said during Wednesday’s episode of Judd’s Hockey Show. “...I think the Wild, wisely, is trying to get into the Hughes brothers’ business. Because if you get Jack, Quinn’s gonna stay, and quite frankly, so will Jack.”
Wild can reap more benefits by trading for Jack Hughes than Dylan Larkin
The Wild have been locked in on trading for Larkin this offseason, but The Athletic’s Michael Russo hinted this week that GM Bill Guerin has also inquired about getting Hughes to Minnesota. The cost may be higher than getting Larkin as Jack is entering his age-25 campaign. But if the costs are similar, getting Hughes over Larkin may be more worth the cost of investment.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Hughes has scored 168 goals and racked up 428 points during his seven years with the Devils. While injuries have allowed him to play over 62 games just once in that time frame, he’s a dynamic offensive player that would fill the Wild’s need for a top-line center.
The added bonus comes with Quinn Hughes’s long-term future in Minnesota. While he’s expected to sign a three-year deal to sync up with Jack Hughes’s contract, which ends after the 2029-30 season, he could sign for the five-year deal that owner Craig Leipold has been pushing for if he knows that his brother is also going to be in the Wild’s long-term plans.
Of course, getting Jack Hughes to Minnesota would not be any cheaper than acquiring Larkin ($8.7 AAV). But at five years younger and at a similar price point ($8 million) AAV, it may be worth Zulgad’s speculative offer of goalie Jesper Wallstedt, center Joel Eriksson Ek, defenseman Jonas Brodin, center prospect Charlie Stramel and a first-round pick.
Even if the Wild needed to toss in Danila Yurov or more draft capital to complete the trade, it may be more worth it if Yzerman is hellbent on Boldy being included in a potential deal for Larkin. It also fulfills the manifest destiny that Devils fans have created, but change the setting to West 7th Street over the swamp at The Meadowlands.
This is contingent on the two sides meeting the framework for a potential deal. But if the cost is the same, Jack Hughes may be more worth the effort even if Larkin would be a tremendous fit for the Wild next year.
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