Three NHL storylines stood out on September 17, 2026, and each one carried its own kind of tension.
In Winnipeg, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff addressed the Connor Hellebuyck situation and framed the team’s suspension of its superstar goalie as more procedural than personal. Cheveldayoff said it’s not clear Hellebuyck would be easy to bring back into the locker room, but he also called the goalie family until he’s not family anymore.
The Jets still haven’t moved Hellebuyck, and Cheveldayoff pointed to value as the reason. He said the organization understands what Hellebuyck means to the franchise and that there was comensurate value in return.
He also pushed back on reports that the team had a “gentlemen’s agreement” to trade Hellebuyck if the Jets failed to contend. Cheveldayoff said NHL contracts are binding and insisted there were no side agreements or promises regarding a future trade.
In Detroit, Dylan Larkin met the media ahead of Red Wings training camp and confirmed he did ask for a trade. He wouldn’t explain why.
Larkin said he’s trying to remove the distraction from the rest of the team and would love to be on the ice, but when it came to giving his reasons, he said he’s not ready to go there. He added he may never be, and fans didn’t exactly warm to the press conference, with many suggesting he didn’t do himself any favors.
The third major update came from Quinn Hughes, who said he isn’t worried about his unsigned extension with the Minnesota Wild. As camp opened, Hughes said he and the team have no issues and that he’s simply taking his time without feeling pressure to get a deal done before the season.
Hughes also addressed the obvious family angle. He acknowledged how appealing it would be to play with brothers Jack and Luke someday, but made clear he isn’t about to give up a great situation in Minnesota just to make that happen.
Reports around the league say the Wild have already put an eight-year offer on the table worth more than Cale Makar’s record $20.4 million AAV. If that deal gets done, Hughes would become the highest-paid defenseman in NHL history.
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For Columbus, the tension now sits with Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, whose contract status has become part of a bigger organizational question. When a team reaches that point, every discussion about direction, timing and commitment takes on extra weight, and for a division rival like the Wild, it is another reminder that the roster-building headaches never really stay contained to one market. [Read more 🡒]
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Goalie plans are already part of the early camp conversation, too, with Jesper Wallstedt and Calvin Pickard expected to handle preseason starts while Filip Gustavssons return is delayed. Off the ice, Quinn Hughes added another layer to the opening-week intrigue by addressing contract talks, saying he feels good about where things stand and does not sound in a rush to force a resolution, which only keeps more attention on how the Wilds roster picture will take shape from here. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Opening Night Roster Comes With One Huge Question
The Wild head into the 2025-26 season with a roster that looks noticeably different, and in a better place than it was a year ago. Minnesota kept its goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt intact, added Quinn Hughes to a defense that already had a chance to get tougher, and brought in forwards Bobby Brink, Blake Coleman and Maxim Shabanov as part of a broader overhaul.
The blue line and crease now project as strengths, but the forward group is where the most uncertainty sits. With several new faces mixed into a lineup that also saw departures, the real question for Minnesota is how quickly those pieces fit and whether the offense can settle into something dependable early in the season. [Read more 🡒]