Free agency has officially begun for the Minnesota Wild, but the bulk of their action could come from the trade market. With this year’s class already picked over, the Wild have become laser-focused on acquiring Dylan Larkin from the Detroit Red Wings. But with five years remaining on his deal, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has driven a hard bargain including winger Matt Boldy.
According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Red Wings “would have no problem” trading Larkin to the Wild if they offered Boldy in a deal. He also added that “there is nothing else [Yzerman] is too interested in,” seemingly indicating an impasse in negotiations.
This doesn’t mean that Yzerman has declared Larkin off limits. But with the astronomical asking price, it’s in the best interest for the Wild to end their trade talks and pivot to Plan B.
Red Wings reported insistence on Matt Boldy should take Wild out of Matt Boldy sweepstakes
Trading for Larkin was always going to be a tough task for the Wild. Signed for the next five years at an annual average value of $8.7 million, giving him away just because he asked to be traded was never going to be an option. and it’s even more true considering what Yzerman is dealing with in Detroit.
The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since Yzerman took over as general manager in 2019 and after missing the playoffs again last year, the pressure is on Detroit to get over the hump. With that in mind, the Red Wings needed to get a significant “win now” player in return and that’s why Boldy makes sense as an asking price, especially since there could be some hard feelings after losing out on a potential Quinn Hughes trade last winter.
However, trading Boldy to get Larkin would make little sense for the Wild. A rising star, Boldy is coming off career highs of 42 goals and 85 points last season and there’s room for more after turning 25 last April. Getting Larkin would fill a massive hole in the middle of the lineup, but the Wild would create another one in Boldy’s spot and likely be giving up the better player in a 1-for-1 deal.
If Yzerman isn’t interested in prospects and draft picks, it’s a tough sell for the Wild. Even if the Wild wanted to deal a core player like Ryan Hartman in the deal, it wouldn’t appeal to Detroit, giving up a top-line center in his prime.
With that in mind, the Wild have to examine their options. The center market doesn’t have a top-line option, but they could pivot to Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers or Boone Jenner of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The one option that fans aren’t talking about, however, is rolling with what they have. The group of Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, Danila Yurov and Michael McCarron was good enough to get to the playoffs last season and they could buy time until the next top-line center appears or the Wild acquire more assets to go after Larkin early next season.
In that scenario, the Wild could look to add a wing. Bobby Brink returned to Minnesota on a one-year deal on Tuesday, but there’s still work to be done as Marcus Johansson returned to Sweden, Mats Zuccarello agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Kings and Vladimir Tarasenko is expected to leave in free agency.
With 150 points potentially going out the door, it could be why the Wild were connected to Philadelphia Flyers wing Owen Tippett earlier this offseason and could be rumored in other trades if they don’t keep Larkin.
Trading for Larkin would be the best move the Wild could make this offseason. But if the Red Wings are insistent on Boldy as part of the return, it may be best to move on and look for other ways to improve the roster.
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