Jack Hughes reuniting with brother Quinn on the Minnesota Wild sounds like fantasy hockey talk. As of Saturday, it's apparently real conversation in league circles.
Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic reported Friday that the Wild believe they're still in the mix for Dylan Larkin, and that Jack Hughes isn't off the table either.
Joe Smith & Michael Russo: The summer is far from over, and the Wild believe they are still in the mix for Larkin and who knows who else (Jack Hughes?)
Let that sink in for a second.
Quinn Hughes already anchors Minnesota's blue line. He's put up 76 points this season, including 69 assists, and he's playing some of the best hockey of his career with 14 points over his last 10 games.
Adding his younger brother would mean two Hughes boys running the show in the same city. Two elite talents, one bloodline, one franchise.
It would be the hockey equivalent of a family business suddenly buying out the competitor down the street.
Jack Hughes has been a driving force in New Jersey all year, putting up 77 points in 61 games with 27 goals. He's been on fire lately too, with 18 points over his last 10 outings.
Larkin trade market heats up as Hughes reunion talk grows
But New Jersey isn't walking away from a $8,000,000 centerman without getting hammered back. And Minnesota isn't the only team that would love to add him.
Larkin remains the more realistic target here. Detroit is sitting at 41-31-10, ranked 16th overall, and losers of three straight. That's a team that could plausibly be selling.
Larkin has been red hot regardless of Detroit's stumble, with 9 points over his last five games and 34 goals on the year. His $8,700,000 cap hit is significant, but Minnesota has been aggressive before.
Bill Guerin doesn't operate quietly. If the Wild GM decides Larkin fits the top six, he'll go get him.
The Jack Hughes piece feels like the wilder swing. New Jersey has stumbled to 42-37-3 and sits 21st overall, but trading a 25-year-old franchise center to a team his brother already plays for is a different kind of decision than moving him anywhere else.
Would the Devils really send him to Minnesota, of all places? That's the kind of trade that changes how a franchise is remembered.
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None of this is close to official. But the fact that insiders are floating Jack Hughes at all tells you July is going to be loud in Minnesota, and Bill Guerin isn't done shopping yet.
Should the Devils trade Jack Hughes to Minnesota to reunite him with brother Quinn?
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