The Detroit Red Wings have an unenviable task of trying to find a trade partner for their captain, Dylan Larkin. Last week, Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that Larkin requested a trade off of the Red Wings, with the team's playoff drought and icy relationship with general manager Steve Yzerman being cited as reasons for this decision. The talk was then where he could get traded to, and what kind of offer the Red Wings could receive in return.
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported that Larkin submitted a trade list that included the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild. The one common theme is that all three teams are Stanley Cup contenders for the foreseeable future, but none of them could offer a gigantic trade haul for the Red Wings.
Now, there appears to be a new team in the mix for Larkin.
During a recent episode of The Sheet Podcast, Daily Faceoff's Jeff Marek and ESPN's Greg Wyshynski discussed Larkin's trade list. However, the two have heard that there were other teams on Larkin's trade wishlist. One of them was the Utah Mammoth.
"I had heard one different one and that was Utah," said Marek.
Utah Mammoth in the mix in Dylan Larkin sweepstakes
Marek and Wyshynski mentioned that while they weren't discrediting St. James' reporting on Larkin's initial trade list, they did hear that the Mammoth were a team in the mix, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
When it comes to potential trade partners, the Mammoth could very well make the best offer, especially when compared to the Golden Knights, Panthers, and Wild. The Golden Knights don't have much cap space to operate with, the Panthers are a division rival of the Red Wings, and the Wild depleted their depth of young players after the Quinn Hughes trade last December. For the Mammoth, they have plenty of prospects and draft picks at their disposal. When it comes to the latter, they still hold the majority of their first- and second-round picks over the next few years, unlike the other three teams.
The Mammoth have shown they are willing to make a big splash trade, as they were reportedly in the running for St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas at the trade deadline. This is a team that made the playoffs this year as a Wild Card team, and may have given the biggest fight to the Golden Knights. Not to mention, it is a young core of players that found it's stride after the franchise moved from Arizona to Utah.
The Mammoth could potentially offer one (or more) of their high draft picks in the next few years and give up some of their top prospects, whether that be a Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers, Dimitri Simashev or others. Let's not forget, The Athletic ranked Utah's farm system sixth in the entire league.
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Wednesday that Yzerman requested that Larkin expand his trade list, which his agent Pat Brisson obliged. Now, it's a matter of what other teams will be in the mix.
From what we know so far, if the Red Wings are looking for the more premium trade return, the Mammoth are the team to provide it.
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