Dylan Larkin will not play for the Detroit Red Wings again until he is traded. The 30-year-old center is sitting out at his own request, a decision that became public on Thursday following statements from his agent, Pat Brisson, and Detroit interim general manager Shawn Horcoff, according to Daily Faceoff.
The Minnesota Wild have emerged as the most persistent team chasing him. TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Thursday that no club has been more active in trying to land Larkin, and Daily Faceoff's reporting on the Wild's pursuit sheds light on why a deal has not yet come together.
Why it matters
Larkin is a former Red Wings captain and a first-round pick from 2014, and he controls his own destination. His contract includes a full no-movement clause, and he has named a specific set of teams he would accept. He has also ruled out every Canadian club, even after widening his list. That narrows Horcoff's market and makes fair value hard to recover.
For Minnesota, the stakes are different. The Wild are in a win-now window, with the Quinn Hughes situation hanging over the franchise. General manager Bill Guerin has a long relationship with Larkin from their time together with Team USA, and Daily Faceoff reports that Minnesota has been the team pushing hardest to get a deal done.
Detroit's price and Minnesota's hesitation
Daily Faceoff spoke with Wild sources over recent days who described the Red Wings' expectations in a Larkin trade as unrealistic. Minnesota has reportedly been offering center Danila Yurov as the main piece, and that has not been enough to satisfy Detroit.
Larkin's start to the season is working against the Red Wings' leverage. He has two goals and six points in 10 games, a slow line that the Wild have noticed. According to Daily Faceoff's Wild sources, there is little willingness in Minnesota to raise its offer while Larkin is producing at that rate.
An Eastern Conference executive told Daily Faceoff that Minnesota's position is constrained by timing. The Wild, in that executive's view, must win now, have run out of alternatives, and will likely have to accept a losing trade to get Larkin. The same executive said any team dealing with Minnesota in this situation should come away with a clearly better return.
That executive raised goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, the 2021 first-round pick, as possibly the Wild's strongest trade asset. But a Western Conference executive pointed out to Daily Faceoff that Detroit has no need in net, with Trey Augustine in its pipeline. When Daily Faceoff asked Wild sources whether Wallstedt could be included, they said flatly that moving him for Larkin is not an option.
A third team could bridge the gap
With Yurov and prospect center Charlie Stramel apparently short of Detroit's asking price — one assistant general manager told Daily Faceoff those two would not be enough — attention has turned to a broker.
The Philadelphia Flyers have been linked to both Minnesota and Larkin in recent weeks, and team sources told Daily Faceoff that Philadelphia would be willing to act as a third party to help complete a Wild–Red Wings trade.
Salary is the obstacle. Acquiring Larkin would strain Minnesota's cap, and winger Yakov Trenin has been mentioned as a possible cap casualty since last spring. Trenin, 29, has two years left on a contract with a $3.5-million average annual value and a 10-team no-trade clause. Flyers sources said Philadelphia would take on that contract for the right return, with Stramel a player of interest who could serve as the price for absorbing Trenin's remaining term.
A Central Division executive noted that Detroit has the cap room to take Trenin itself if it chose to, but Philadelphia is ready to step in if needed. Any third-team involvement would likely cost Minnesota an additional asset, and Wild sources said the players already discussed feel like a steep price for Larkin as it stands.
Daily Faceoff also examined a possible three-team construction involving the Vancouver Canucks that would have sent Elias Pettersson to Detroit. League sources said the Red Wings do not value Pettersson highly, closing off that route.
Other clubs could still jump ahead of Minnesota in the queue. Whether that happens depends on Guerin and Horcoff finding common ground on Larkin's value, and on how long Detroit is willing to let its sidelined center wait.
