The Detroit Red Wings are going to be the most followed team of the NHL offseason, and not necessarily for a move that will benefit them. Earlier this month, the Red Wings were informed by team captain Dylan Larkin that he would like to be traded. Larkin has a full no-movement clause, meaning he could provide the Red Wings with teams he'd accept a trade to. Even so, it's up to general manager Steve Yzerman to finalize a trade once he gets an offer that he deems is more than sufficient enough.
One of the three teams that was on his initial list of three teams was the Minnesota Wild That's not a huge surprise, considering they are Stanley Cup contenders on paper. Plus, Larkin has Team USA links with Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Bill Guerin. But do the Wild have enough to entice the Red Wings and Yzerman to accept trading them thier star and captain?
Former NHL general manager and current director of amateur scouting for TSN Craig Button spoke with The Athletic's Joe Smith about whether or not the Wild have enough to secure a trade for Larkin. Button made it clear that he's not a fan of whatever Minnesota and Guerin will offer.
Wild may not have what the Red Wings would want in Dylan Larkin trade
“Larkin, an elite player in the National Hockey League, for Charlie Stramel and Yurov? Come on,” Button told Smith. “When other teams can offer so much more, that’s the problem Minnesota has. It’s not that those guys aren’t decent prospects. It’s that the other teams have more. They have better prospects.”
As Button mentions, he doesn't have an issue with Charlie Stramel or Danila Yurov as players, but he feels the Red Wings could get a lot more for other teams. The Wild don't have much draft capital, as they don't have a first-round pick this year and are without their second-round picks until 2029. Not to mention they traded away some of their top young players in Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium and Liam Ohgren in the Hughes trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
Stramel and Yurov have long been linked as potential trade pieces for a top line center, whether it be for Larkin or Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers. But are they enough to convince a team to trade away their trade pieces? In fact, Yurov was a non-negotiable when it came to trade talks for Trocheck leading into the trade deadline. He has just one season under his belt in Minnesota, where he didn't put up incredible offensive numbers.
“Yurov has been fine. He’s been solid,” Button told Smith. “Is he a center or is he a wing? Can he give you offense? Is he a second-line center or a third-line center? He isn’t a first-line center. He might be a 3A or 2B. And there’s nothing wrong with that."
As for Stramel, he played for Michigan State this past season, but is expected to make the transition to the pros possibly next campaign. In 37 games this season, Stramel scored 29 goals and recorded 25 assists.
For the Red Wings, they need to hope for a bidding war. The Florida Panthers, who were among the three teams on Larkin's initial list, are seemingly out of it after trading for Brady Tkachuk on Sunday. The Vegas Golden Knights, meanwhile, don't have much draft capital and have to offload contracts to fit in Larkin's deal. It's been reported by The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun that Yzerman reached out to Larkin's agent Pat Brisson to expand his trade list. Maybe a team that Larkin would accept a trade to would provide a more premium offer than what the Wild or Golden Knights could.
If the offers aren't there for Yzerman, it sound as though he's willing to keep this saga going throughout the offseason. Maybe, just maybe, the Wild can offer some more for Larkin, especially since they lost out on Tkachuk.
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