The Minnesota Wild have plenty of questions to answer this offseason. But one of the most important may be “What is Quinn Hughes thinking?” The star defenseman is eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1 and while he has said all of the right things, nobody knows if he’ll sign on the dotted line this summer.
The situation was given another wrinkle on Thursday when reports surfaced that Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin asked for a trade. A player that seems tailor-made for Minnesota’s center problem, Larkin’s request has opened the floodgates for speculation and Hughes dove head-first into the waters, liking a post on Instagram that raised the possibility of Larkin being traded to the Wild.
Getting Larkin here is an issue for general manager Bill Guerin to figure out. But it appears Hughes has made his thoughts clear on the matter and may create a sense of urgency to make a deal.
Wild can use Dylan Larkin as another selling point for Quinn Hughes to stay in Minnesota
Hughes will be the Wild’s top priority this offseason as he enters the final year of his contract. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos wrote that Minnesota “are prepared to make him a big offer and are more than willing to make him as happy as they did with Kirill Kaprizov last year, when they signed him to a $17 million contract.” But even if the Wild backup the Brinks truck, they still could use some help by retooling the roster to make a deeper push into the Stanley Cup next season.
That makes finding a No. 1 center imperative and Larkin feels like a great fit. While he’s set to turn 30 in July, Larkin has scored 30 or more goals in five straight seasons including a career-high 34 goals last season. He also would be a long-term piece of the puzzle, signed through the 2030-31 season with an annual average value of $8.7 million according to Puckpedia.
But Larkin could also be a selling point for Hughes to sign an extension. Both players starred at the University of Michigan and have played together in international tournaments beginning when they were roommates during the 2018 IIHF World Championships. More recently, they were teammates for Team USA during the 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Winter Olympics and have continued to build their relationship.
“Larks has been like a big brother to me. …I think I met him at a frat party when I was a freshman. But he’s awesome,” Hughes told NHL Network reporter Jackie Redmond in February. “...I just follow from what a big heart Larks has. He’s always told me to pay it forward and I think that’s a great message.”
It’s important to note that wasn’t enough for Hughes to agree to an extension that would have completed a trade between the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings last December. But if the Wild can’t find a way for Hughes to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke, in Minnesota ahead of schedule, getting someone who was described as a big brother may be the next best thing.
For right now, Hughes seems bullish on the idea of reuniting with Larkin. The Athletic’s Michael Russo also posted on X that the Wild would have “a million percent” interest in making a deal. If a deal gets done, another one with Hughes could follow and help Minnesota cross off two of the most important things on their to-do list.
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