- The Wild checked in with New Jersey on Jack Hughes before turning to Dylan Larkin
- Minnesota is one of Larkin’s three preferred landing spots, with Vegas and Florida
- Read below for the Larkin trade breakdown and video
The Minnesota Wild took their big swing first.
Before circling back to the player everyone expects them to land, the Wild checked in with the New Jersey Devils about Jack Hughes, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. New Jersey has no interest in moving its franchise center this summer, so that call went nowhere fast.
Uniting the brothers is the draw. Jack is the younger sibling of Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, and putting them on the same roster in Minnesota looked like a move that was still a couple of years off.
That reunion isn’t happening this summer. Hughes isn’t going anywhere, and the Wild know it.
So they zeroed in on Dylan Larkin.
The Red Wings captain requested a trade this offseason after 11 years in his hometown, and he’s the one top-line center on the market Minnesota can actually pry loose. That’s exactly the forward upgrade the Wild have been chasing.
Here’s video of Larkin doing his thing in Detroit:
Minnesota sits on a short list of Larkin’s preferred destinations, alongside the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers. That’s not a long list, and the Wild are on it.
Larkin’s name has been everywhere this week, including some cryptic Fourth of July hints at where he might want to land.
One of these two forwards is getting moved, and it’s almost certainly Larkin. The Wild just made sure they asked about the other one first.
