The Minnesota Wild are expected to contend in a loaded Western Conference this season and the main reason is because of the roster general manager Bill Guerin has put together. Guerin has shown he’s not afraid to make moves that will improve the Wild’s chances of winning a Stanley Cup and that has kept the door open for a trade involving Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin.
A potential trade for Larkin seems like it is beginning to build steam as Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper attended the Wild’s game against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. The wheels continued to turn on Thursday when The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that Detroit interim GM Shawn Horcoff made the trip to watch the Wild battle the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Russo went on to mention that Horcoff sat with Guerin during the first intermission and chatted with assistant GM Mike Murray during the second period. But the Wild’s play the last two games, which led to their first losses of the year, may show that attention could be creating a distraction and Guerin’s willingness to make a deal may be hurting the team until there is a resolution.
The Wild need their Dylan Larkin drama to end as soon as possible
The Wild have looked like a team that could use a player of Larkin’s caliber in the first four games. After ranking 10th in the NHL with 3.27 goals per game last season, they rank 23rd with 2.75 goals per game entering Friday.
While it is a small sample size, you can see it with the eye test that Minnesota looks sluggish at times and it cost them, giving up two goals in the third period and the overtime winner in a 3-2 loss to the Sabres on Tuesday and two goals in the first period during 4-3 loss to the Lightning on Thursday.
In addition, it feels like the Wild have been showcasing their trade chips over the first four games. Danila Yurov has played on the top line for most of the opening games of the year. But while he has shown improvement, he also isn’t the player Larkin is right now and was bumped down to the third line as Minnesota tried to get back into the game late on Thursday night.
The other interesting move happened when defenseman Olli Maatta was a late scratch before taking on the Lightning. Russo reported that Guerin believes the injury is minor and he could return against the Florida Panthers on Saturday. But the move also allowed David Spacek to get his first action of the year and it happened to take place in front of Horcoff.
All of this could be a coincidence, but it can be pieced together with the Wild’s performance. While Guerin transformed the Wild last season by making a midseason trade for Quinn Hughes, he did so by getting rid of expendable pieces including Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium.
This time around, the Wild will be doing the same if Yurov, Spacek and Charlie Stramel, who is currently in the AHL, is sent to Detroit as part of a trade. But with just $337,552 in cap space and $1.59 million to make a move ahead of March’s trade deadline (h/t Puckpedia), salary has to be moved in order to fit Larkin’s $8.7 million cap hit.
The Wild could work around this by placing Brock Faber or Filip Gustavsson on long term injured reserve – a salary cap loophole that many teams have used for big moves in recent years. But Russo noted that the Wild are trying to avoid doing that as they wouldn’t accumulate cap space to make a move at the deadline.
In addition, Detroit has been adamant they want pieces that would make trading Larkin a lateral move instead of one that triggers a rebuild, which means a veteran with a notable salary would need to be included to make a deal happen. That could make Ryan Hartman, Yakov Trenin or Nico Sturm expendable and have several players in the locker room wondering if they’ll be here by the time the puck drops on their next game.
And after watching several veterans including Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jake Middleton get sent packing this offseason, there’s enough pressure to make anyone in that locker room wonder who is next.
The Wild’s slow start has made the Dylan Larkin situation more urgent
To be fair, the Wild aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure to make a deal. While Larkin has returned to the ice for the Red Wings and scored a goal with an assist in a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, the vibes have been awkward as Larkin was booed during player introductions on opening night and had his captaincy stripped before training camp.
Larkin has also continued to use his no-trade clause to his advantage, turning down potential moves to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens.
But both sides would benefit greatly from putting the drama behind them. For Detroit, they could get rid of the distraction and pivot to Simon Edvinsson’s contract situation. For Minnesota, they can work with the roster they’ll have as they compete for a Cup next spring.
It could also put an end to the Hughes drama, who still is in “no rush” to sign an extension but may do so if the Wild bring his Michigan mentor to Minnesota.
Regardless, the Larkin drama will continue to hang in the air until there is a resolution. While the WIld have only played four games, their play has suggested that the sooner that happens, the better this team will be.
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