These are the dog days of summer, though the NHL schedule release on Thursday should create some intrigue for fans.<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Wild have completed a chunk of their offseason checklist \u2014 from acquiring Blake Coleman and Olli M\u00e4\u00e4tt\u00e4<\/a> in a deal with the Calgary Flames to signing Russian winger Maxim Shabanov<\/a> to hiring a new director of amateur scouting<\/a>.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s still some heavy lifting left to do, including re-signing Quinn Hughes, the team\u2019s No. 1 priority (more on that coming).<\/p>\n There are still free agents available \u2014 notably Patrick Kane. And Dylan Larkin\u2019s trade request remains, at least to this point, unresolved. Until Larkin is moved somewhere, it doesn\u2019t seem like the Wild are going to be out of it.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we\u2019re hearing on five burning questions:<\/p>\n Any insight on Quinn Hughes\u2019 contract talks?<\/p>\n They\u2019re working on it, but a deal isn\u2019t imminent, per league sources who were granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. That doesn\u2019t mean there should be a cause for concern. The Wild have made it clear that re-signing Hughes was their top priority this summer, so it\u2019s understandable for fans to feel stressed the longer negotiations go. But we don\u2019t expect this to be like the Kirill Kaprizov negotiations, which dragged into September. Minnesota\u2019s management team has been quiet publicly, but as far as we know, both sides are still working toward the same goal.<\/p>\n What we\u2019ve reported for a while is that the deal is likely to be for three years. The contract projection is of an AAV in the $16-18 million range, depending on term, with many reasons why<\/a> those numbers make sense. That would mean Minnesota would have a huge chunk of their cap in two players, with Kaprizov\u2019s new contract ($17 million AAV) kicking in this season. That could be a challenge in roster building, but when you consider these are two of the league\u2019s best players at their positions, and the going rate these days (see: Leo Carlsson offer sheet), this is a dilemma most GMs wouldn\u2019t mind having.<\/p>\n Is Dylan Larkin still in play? What are the backup options?<\/p>\n Larkin is still in play, though things have been pretty quiet on that end. Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is clearly being patient, looking for the right return for the face of his franchise. Yzerman said during a rare media availability<\/a> around the NHL Draft that there\u2019s no guarantee he will follow through on Larkin\u2019s trade request. We\u2019ve seen him hold his ground<\/a> before. It certainly wouldn\u2019t surprise us if September arrives and Larkin hasn\u2019t moved. Ansar Khan of MLive.com reported that Larkin extended his list of preferred teams by one, adding the Dallas Stars to a group that includes the Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n The Wild have made their offer for Larkin, but it appears it\u2019s not enough for Detroit, which is now looking for rostered players versus futures, per Sportsnet\u2019s Elliotte Friedman. So, things appear at a standstill. The best bet for the Wild is to end up as the last suitor after other teams have already made their big moves this summer. Dallas still has to work out what to do with star RFA Jason Robertson. The closer this saga gets to training camp, the more uncomfortable it\u2019ll probably be for Detroit if Larkin hasn\u2019t moved. While the Wild don\u2019t have a lot of cap space remaining this season \u2014 around $2 million at this point \u2014 they have the ability to create some room.<\/p>\n When asked a couple weeks ago if there\u2019s still a path forward for a top center, Wild GM Bill Guerin said, \u201cWe remain flexible. Right now, we\u2019re just focused on the guys we\u2019ve got. We\u2019ll look at everything that\u2019s out there, and if there\u2019s something that makes sense that\u2019ll make our team better, we\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the Nick Kypreos report that the Red Wings would want Matt Boldy in a Larkin trade, we don\u2019t see a scenario where the Wild would move on from the winger.<\/p>\n