For months, the Minnesota Wild’s pursuit of Dylan Larkin has been spinning its wheels. Larkin requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings in June and while the Wild was one of three teams – along with the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights – on his list of preferred destinations, Minnesota always seemed to be the frontrunner due to their need for a No. 1 center.
Since then, the Red Wings have balked at the Wild’s offers, reassigned president of hockey operations Steve Yzerman and sat in the middle of all the drama. With that in mind, the Red WIngs might be best-served trading Larkin as soon as possible. But as he makes things difficult with his no-trade clause, they’ve somehow made things worse, stripping him of the captaincy on Friday morning.
“We look forward to seeing Dylan and the rest of his teammates at Little Caesars Arena for the start of training camp as we prepare for the upcoming season,” The Red Wings said in a statement.
“Dylan is under contract as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Any conversations regarding his future with the Clube will take place privately when a new hockey operations leader has been named. As such we will not comment any further on this matter.
“The Red Wings will begin the 2026-27 season without a captain being named. Any further discussions or decisions regarding this topic will be made once new hockey operations leadership is in place.”
While the Red Wings’ decision to strip Larkin of the captaincy is the most notable development in that statement, it throws more gas on the dumpster fire that has played out this summer. And while it may not bring the Wild any closer to trading for Larkin, they can at least bask in the glow as they wait for Detroit to get it together.
The Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin drama isn’t going away soon
Larkin is a certified “Michigan Man,” growing up in Waterford before starring with the Wolverines. The 15th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Larkin debuted during the 2015-16 season, was named captain in January 2021 and ranks 10th in franchise history in both goals (276) and points (643).
While Larkin has been one of Detroit’s best players, it hasn’t led to team success. The Red Wings last made the playoffs when Larkin was a 19-year-old and own the NHL’s longest playoff drought at 10 seasons. After failing to make the playoffs last year, Larkin’s trade request was made public in June, although everything since then has been complicated.
Yzerman told reporters during the NHL Draft that he “did not make any guarantees” that Larkin’s request would be honored. That decision has some merit considering Larkin owns a no trade clause and is signed through the 2030-31 season with an average annual value (AAV) of $8.7 million. In addition, Larkin has a no-trade clause, which allows him to control his destination.
But despite all the talk about contracts, cap space and a fair return on the trade, the Red Wings have to deal with a storm that could intensify before the start of the season. While Larkin will report to training camp, stepping into the same locker room he’s been trying to get out of this summer could create some interesting conversations between teammates.
If that wasn’t enough, the Red Wings season opener against the New York Rangers in Detroit could also get ugly. The fan base has turned on Larkin due to the request and a chorus of boos towards their former captain could also create for an interesting scene as he waits for the Red Wings to accommodate his request.
It’s not like the Red Wings haven’t tried to solve the problem, agreeing to a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers before Larkin vetoed it early this week. But if NHL personalities were worried about what distraction Quinn Hughes’s contract status would be for the Wild, it might be 10 times the problem if Larkin begins the season in Detroit.
The Wild are still waiting for the Red Wings to get it together and trade Dylan Larkin
With all of this in mind, Wild fans just want to know if Larkin will wind up in Minnesota. But in many ways, the path to a trade hasn’t changed.
The Red Wings still need to hire a general manager and, as Larkin said in his statement, the two sides still need to sit down and discuss the future of the franchise. Unless that new GM has a golden binder that blows Larkin away, the next step is finding fair compensation.
It has been presumed that 2023 first-round pick Charlie Stramel, center Danila Yurov and draft picks have been the centerpiece of Wild general manager Bill Guerin’s offer. But the Red Wings want pieces that can help them win immediately and end their playoff drought. Unless the Wild dangle one of their core assets or find a third team that has enough to facilitate a trade, that package isn’t going to improve and it leaves Minnesota back at square one as they look to push the trade over the finish line.
The good news is that the Wild are still the most logical destination as Vegas already has Jack Eichel as its top center and Florida has just $34,286 in cap space going into this season. The Athletic’s Michael Russo also said that Larkin that Larkin “wants to be” in Minnesota but getting him here is still complicated by the $1.15 million the Wild currently have in cap space according to Puckpedia.
This means that Larkin being in a Wild sweater on opening night is still unlikely. But if anything, the flames in Detroit are only growing higher and it could push them towards another decision they’ll have to make on Larkin’s future soon.
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