Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes didn’t exactly hide the optimism when he spoke with Elliotte Friedman. He sounded like a player who sees a team ready to take a step, and he also left the door wide open for Bill Guerin to keep swinging big.
Hughes said he isn’t feeling any pressure about a contract extension, and he made it clear he’s comfortable with where things stand. More than that, he pointed to a Wild group he believes should have fans fired up heading into the 2026-27 season.
“I feel at peace. I'm ready to go,” Hughes said.
“I think the Wild fans should be really excited about, you know, watching us play. And I think we're gonna be at our best.
I think guys are hungry and we're healthy. And you guys know Billy.
I mean, Billy could make a massive trade and add to our team at any point. So I think Wild fans should be extremely excited for this year.”
That line - “massive trade” - is the one that jumps off the page.
It landed at a time when the Detroit Red Wings confirmed captain Dylan Larkin has requested a trade. Detroit said Larkin will still report to training camp, but the team will enter the 2026-27 season without a captain.
“Dylan is under contract as a member of the Detroit Red Wings,” the team said in a statement. “Any conversations regarding his future with the Club will take place privately when a new hockey operations leader has been named.”
Larkin also addressed the situation himself, saying he has had several “in-depth discussions” with Red Wings leadership over the past few weeks. He said those talks will continue once new leadership is in place.
There’s no indication Hughes was talking about Larkin specifically when he mentioned a possible major move from Guerin, and there’s nothing connecting the Wild to the Red Wings center right now.
Even so, Larkin’s situation is the kind of development that naturally gets attention around the league. If Detroit’s star center does become available, he would fit the description of the sort of impact player who could tempt a contender looking for a huge upgrade.
The 30-year-old has spent his entire NHL career in Detroit and has worn the captain’s “C” since 2021. A player with that profile would be one of the biggest names on the market if things move in that direction.
Minnesota already made its franchise-changing splash when it landed Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks last season. Now Hughes sounds convinced Guerin won’t be shy about making another bold move if the right chance comes along.
Whether that ends up being Larkin or someone else is still unknown. But with Hughes healthy, the core in place, and expectations rising, the Wild appear to be entering the season with the sense that one more major move could still be coming.
And after Friday’s news in Detroit, there’s at least one more name worth watching.
In Other News...
Wild Patience Gets Tested As Dylan Larkin Rumors Heat Up
The Dylan Larkin chatter has lingered all summer, and it only picked up again after Quinn Hughes went out of his way to praise the Red Wings captain at the NHL Player Media Tour. For Minnesota, the appeal is obvious. Larkin brings leadership, speed and the kind of two-way presence that can change the tone of a lineup, which is why the Wild have been tied to him as they look for ways to keep climbing in a crowded Western Conference.
But interest has not been the same thing as progress. Larkin asked for a trade in June and still remains in Detroit, where the front office situation has slowed the conversation while the Red Wings search for a new general manager. For the Wild, the hurdles are familiar ones in any big-name pursuit: finding the right compensation, making the salary cap work and waiting out a process that still seems far from resolution. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Camp Opens With A Big Opening Night Question In Net
The Wilds 2026-27 training camp opens Sept. 17 at TRIA Rink with plenty of bodies and one obvious place for the competition to start taking shape. Minnesota announced a 48-player roster that includes forwards, defensemen and goaltenders, and the preseason arrives quickly with four games beginning Sept. 19.
In net, the early workload looks especially important because Filip Gustavsson is expected to start the season on injured reserve. That leaves Jesper Wallstedt and Calvin Pickard as the primary goalies available for camp, putting a little extra weight on every practice rep and exhibition look as the Wild sort out their opening-night plan. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Veterans Are Entering A Season That Could Get Uncomfortable
The early edges of a season can look a lot different once the games start piling up, and that is part of what makes this stretch interesting for the Wild. A few familiar names are carrying some real uncertainty into the year, with Jared Spurgeons recent point totals trending down as age and injuries continue to factor into how often he can tilt the ice, while Filip Gustavsson enters after hip surgery with his health and form still impossible to pin down with much confidence.
Yakov Trenin adds another layer to the conversation because his value has been tied so closely to a heavy physical game, and seasons built on that kind of output do not always repeat cleanly. None of this means Minnesota should expect a collapse, but it does suggest the margin for error could tighten quickly if those veterans drift back from last seasons levels, leaving the Wild to balance what they hope these players still provide against the possibility that the numbers start moving the other way. [Read more 🡒]