The Detroit Red Wings have plenty of questions heading into next season, which isn't ideal considering the team has been in offseason mode since April. The Red Wings need to hire a new head of hockey operations after Steve Yzermam stepped aside. Perhaps most importantly, the Red Wings need to decide what to do with captain Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade back in June.
At the time of the trade request, it became known that Larkin would allow a trade to just four teams — Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars. Yzerman was playing hard ball with trade conversations, while saying he's not going to trade Larkin unless he gets a strong enough offer. Based on a new update, it appears that there is only one team in the running for Larkin.
During an appearance on The Sheet podcast with Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski, The Athletic's Michael Russo revealed while discussing the Quinn Hughes contract situation that the Wild still have interest in trading for Larkin, while the Golden Knights and Panthers do not.
Wild appear to be only team left in Dylan Larkin sweepstakes
"The Wild, to this point, hasn't gotten that No. 1 center," said Russo. "They still are really holding out hope for Larkin. Obviously, Quinn [Hughes] has a lot of inside information here because he skates with Larkin on a daily basis in Ann Arbor. So you know he knows that Dylan's preference would be to come to Minnesota or Vegas or Florida. But Vegas and Florida right now don't have interest in him. But the Wild still do."
The fact that the Wild are still interested in Larkin isn't shocking at all. After their season ended, general manager Bill Guerin publicly stated that one of their offseason goals was to get a No. 1 center. Larkin fits the bill, but they were unable to pry him away from the Red Wings while Yzerman was still in charge of hockey operations.
Vegas doesn't necessarily have the assets or cap space to fit Larkin on their team. As for Florida, they pivoted from Larkin and acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators.
Larkin does fit the bill of what the Wild are looking for. After all, he was on the United States team in this year's Winter Olympics that won the gold medal. Guerin was the general manager of Team USA and selected Larkin for the roster alongside Wild players Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, and Hughes. The Team USA links obviously play a factor in Larkin's trade request, but also the fact that the Wild are contenders. Let's face it, throughout the majority of Larkin's career, the Red Wings weren't even in the playoffs.
While the Wild want Larkin, they are probably going to have to wait longer for some clarity.
Dylan Larkin still isn't a guarantee to end up on the Wild
Now, the Wild are stuck waiting to see what the Red Wings are going to do with Larkin.
Yes, Larkin could still say he prefers to be traded. But it is up to the new general manager or president of hockey operations, once they are hired, to see if Larkin can be persuaded to stay for this upcoming season, or if a trade truly is the correct path. Yet, it doesn't appear that a new head of hockey operations will be hired until the start of the regular season, as the Red Wings are taking a patient approach to their search. That doesn't help out the Wild.
Additionally, the Wild don't exactly have the desirable assets to convince a team to give up one of their star players. Minnesota already gave up some of their top players like Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, and Zeev Buium. It's no secret that the Wild have been offering Charlie Stramel and Danila Yurov in potential trade packages, but they aren't exactly the types of players a team would be willing to accept in a return for Larkin.
Plus, the Wild are still in talks with Hughes regarding a contract extension. Even though both sides have expressed interest in a deal, and they recently met, they have not gotten close to finalizing an extension.
The Wild have huge expectations heading into next season, and they believe that Larkin can be the player that helps them reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their history. But they will have to wait alongside Red Wings fans for an answer regarding Larkin's status with the team.
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