The Minnesota Wild are still trying to get Quinn Hughes under contract, but the situation sounds anything but simple.
GM Bill Guerin has confirmed that extension talks are ongoing with Hughes and his camp, yet the noise around the negotiation keeps pointing to complications. Hughes is 26 and heading into the final year of his deal, which puts real urgency on Minnesota’s side. The Wild would like to land him on a long-term agreement in the five-to-eight-year range, but there’s chatter that Hughes may be more interested in something shorter.
One of the biggest questions hanging over the talks is whether Hughes wants to line up his next deal with his brother, Jack Hughes, of the New Jersey Devils. If the conversation drags out, New Jersey could become a serious threat to pry him away, and Minnesota may eventually have to think about a trade. For now, though, the clock is ticking, and the longer this goes, the more pressure sits on the Wild to finish the job.
There’s also another layer to the Wild’s situation: they still haven’t added the center they want. That need remains high on their list, and if they can’t solve it, the question becomes whether Hughes is willing to wait on a team that may not be as competitive as it wants to be.
In Edmonton, the Oilers may still be open to roster changes, but don’t expect them to go the professional tryout route in any big way.
A number of notable unsigned names remain out there, including Patrik Laine and Vladimir Tarasenko, but the sense around the Oilers is that they’re unlikely to load up on PTOs this offseason. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal put it this way: “with only four exhibition games rather than normal eight for Oilers and vets having to play two games minimum I just don’t see many PTO’s if at all. Have to look at prospects too.”
That shorter exhibition slate matters. With fewer chances to evaluate veterans in game action, Edmonton has less incentive to bring in a long list of camp invites when it also needs to sort through its own prospects.
Detroit’s Dylan Larkin situation remains stuck in neutral as well, and the Red Wings’ search for a new general manager is a big reason why.
It has been two months since reports said Larkin requested a trade, but there still hasn’t been much movement toward a resolution. Helene St.
James of The Detroit Free Press reported that the club’s ownership brought in a search firm to help determine who will replace Steve Yzerman. As she wrote:
“A person with knowledge of the Red Wings’ search process told the Free Press that Ilitch hired a search firm to help determine who should replace Steve Yzerman. Yzerman served as Wings general manager from April 19, 2019-July 15, 2026, when it was announced he would transition to a role as a senior advisor.”
Until that GM search is finished, any Larkin trade appears to be on pause. Minnesota had been mentioned as a possible landing spot, but trade talks have reportedly stalled because of Detroit’s asking price. The Red Wings are looking for an established NHL player in return, and Matt Boldy was previously floated as a target - a name Minnesota has no interest in moving.
In Toronto, there’s at least some encouraging news on Auston Matthews.
The Maple Leafs captain has been skating and shooting in Switzerland as he continues recovering from a serious knee injury. Matthews is coming back from a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion after surgery months ago, and this latest step suggests he’s making steady progress. The bigger question now is whether he’ll be fully ready when training camp opens.
In Other News...
Detroit Icon Just Framed Every Red Wings Fans Biggest Larkin Fear
Henrik Zetterberg is back in the conversation around the Red Wings, even if the setting is a world away from Little Caesars Arena. Now working on the sports council at Timra, the former Detroit captain was asked about the difficulty of replacing a 30-goal scorer after his club lost Jonathan Dahlen and Emil Pettersson, a problem that immediately brought the Larkin conversation into focus for Detroit fans.
Zetterbergs point lands because it is the kind of roster hole every team dreads, especially when the player in question is a captain and a reliable finisher. Timra is leaning on returning scorer Eddie Genborg and new signing Otto Kivenmaki, a former Red Wings prospect, to help absorb the loss, but the larger issue is the one that hangs over Detroit: what happens if Dylan Larkin is no longer filling that role? [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Larkin Faces A Defining Red Wings Question Right Now
Dylan Larkins future in Detroit has become one of the franchises defining questions, and it comes at a moment when the Red Wings are still trying to sort out both their direction and their identity. Recent roster moves have kept the conversation going, but the larger backdrop is the same familiar one for this team: a crowded Eastern Conference and a club that has not yet clearly shown it is ready to make the leap.
The uncertainty is only magnified by the ongoing search for a new general manager, because the next voice in charge will help shape whatever comes next. Fans know the stakes here, and so does Larkin, whose decision will likely come down to whether the Red Wings can present a convincing path forward rather than just another promise of progress. [Read more 🡒]
Alex DeBrincat Is Forcing A Huge Red Wings Decision
Alex DeBrincat keeps doing the one thing that matters most in the NHL: scoring goals, and plenty of them. The five-foot-eight winger has already put together three 40-plus goal seasons and has piled up 294 goals across nine NHL seasons, a rsum that puts him firmly among the leagues most dangerous finishers even if the reputation lagged behind the production. He also remains one of those players who never quite seems to get full respect from outside observers, as shown by his absence from NHL Networks top 20 wingers list.
For the Red Wings, the issue is no longer whether DeBrincat belongs in the conversation with elite wingers, because his track record already answers that. The real question is how aggressively Detroit should position itself around a player whose value appears to be rising into the territory occupied by names such as Kyle Connor and Jason Robertson, and who is heading toward a major contract decision next summer. That puts the organization in a familiar but uncomfortable spot: deciding whether to pay for proven scoring now, or risk watching one of its most dependable offensive pieces move into a market that will only push the price higher. [Read more 🡒]