Dylan Larkin's Trade List

So you're saying there's a chance?

Tidbits are starting to leak out regarding Dylan Larkin’s trade request, which became public last week. Red Wings beat reporter Helene St James is reporting that Larkin submitted a three team trade list to the organization: Vegas, Florida, and Minnesota. In response, Red Wings fans have begun to fume, as it would appear none of these organizations have trade pieces that would be appealing in an open trade market where every team could bid on Larkin’s contract.

That’s one of the downsides of giving players ironclad trade protection.

Of course Steve Yzerman doesn’t have to honor Larkin’s trade request. As I’ve posited in my two previous articles, this upcoming season was looking like an opportune time to retool the rebuild that began under Yzerman, so if it comes down to that, Larkin can sit out while the days on his trade protection slowly winds down.

I personally don’t expect this to happen.

Larkin is represented by Pat Brisson, one of the true pros when it comes to NHL agents. I view this short list as way for them to assert control by limiting the list of preferred choices. Yzerman will now need to do his due diligence and see what he can get from each club before weighing whether he likes the return.

My guess is he will not, with only one club being a legit dance partner. Let’s consider what each team may have to offer for Dylan Larkin’s services.

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas has little in the way of young talent which would best fit Detroit’s window surrounding Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. The Red Wings would ideally like to get a center in return, however the Knights’ centers are all on the tail end of their prime years. The one player who would likely interest Yzerman and fit Detroit’s window would be 25 year old Pavel Dorofeyev, who put up 37 goals this past season. He’s apparently played on both wings, so he would address Detroit’s need for a first line left wing.

Vegas doesn’t have a first round draft pick until the 2028 draft, so there’s clearly not much to like when it comes to the Golden Knights. I’m not going to address Vegas’ cap situation — other than to say they currently have $4.6 million in cap space and need to sign 4 forwards and 3 defensemen — but that’s another factor that may make them a poor fit as a trade partner unless Detroit eats a lot of salary in the form of retention, which Yzerman has no incentive to do.

If I wanted to dig a bit deeper in order to try to make this trade work, I would take a look at 29 year old Noah Hanafin as a possible trade target. While Hanafin also has a no-trade clause, perhaps he could be persuaded to waive it in order to get a deal done. I recall hearing Detroit had some interest in Hanafin when the Flames put him on the trade market, but I’m not confident regarding the sources for that rumor.

In this scenario Detroit could ship Albert Johansson to Vegas, as he has a $1.1 million contract that would help the Knights balance the books. That gives Vegas the opportunity to sign impending UFA Rasmus Andersson to a new deal after trading for him this season. Generally speaking, they seem pretty cooked if Alex Piertrangelo attempts to come back from LTIR, but you should know to never count Vegas out when it comes to preposterous trade scenarios.

So here’s what I think a trade could look like:

To Vegas:

Dylan Larkin, Albert Johansson

To Detroit:

Pavel Dorofeyev, Noah Hanafin

Vegas gets center depth and cap relief. Detroit gets their 1LW and a 2LHD to play behind Simon Edvinsson. I really don’t like the complete lack of options for Detroit when it comes to scoring line center, which makes trading Larkin to the Golden Knights unappealing to me.

So Vegas seems like a non-starter, but you can’t blame a guy for trying.

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota traded their best young talent in the Quinn Hughes deal, and their first and second round draft picks in this summer’s draft, so it’s tough to see Detroit having much interest in anything the Wild would want to move while maintaining their aspirations for a long playoff run. Like Vegas, all their centers are at or near the wrong side of 30 as they traded Marco Rossi to Vancouver.

Detroit also wouldn’t seem to be a good landing spot for Jesper Wallstedt — who was reportedly dangled when Minnesota attempted to acquire Robert Thomas — unless the plan was to flip him, but goalies don’t have amazing value on the trade market. Like the Vegas trade scenario, if I was Steve Yzerman I would require Matt Boldy to be part of any trade that sent Larkin to the Wild, as he would fill that 1LW spot in Detroit’s lineup.

Minnesota also has Charlie Stramel as a young center prospect, but his current trajectory makes him unappealing, as there’s no way you view him as a potential scoring line center at this point in time. The other piece that was reportedly included in Guerin’s pursuit of Thomas was Danila Yurov, a young forward who doesn’t project to be a lock as a scoring line winger.

If Yzerman was going to propose a trade with Guerin, I suspect it would look something like this:

To Minnesota:

Dylan Larkin

To Detroit:

Matt Boldy, Charlie Stramel, 2027 first round draft pick

My guess is Bill Guerin wouldn’t agree to part with Boldy, which in my opinion makes consummating a deal impossible. Stramel, Yurov and even Wallstedt aren’t appealing enough to meet the value Detroit would send the other way.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are the best and worst option: they are the best because they are the one team on Larkin’s list who could ship a young center to Detroit, but the worst because they are a division rival. Any trade that sends Larkin to Florida would likely include 24 year old Anton Lundell going the other way, as he’d fit the Seider and Raymond window. While it’s legitimate to wonder about his offensive upside — he has a career high of 18 goals and 45 points — he has a Stanley Cup pedigree and would provide Detroit with a badly needed pivot who could play alongside Marco Kasper, who has a similar profile as a player.

In an attempt to further bolster Detroit down the middle, Yzerman would certainly want Florida’s 9th overall pick, which has been reported to be in play as a trade chip. With that pick, the Red Wings may decide to select Viggo Björck in the NHL Draft, a diminutive center whom Elite Prospects praises for his passing, stick handling and hockey sense.

Finally, Yzerman may seek to pry one more piece out of the Panthers: right wing Mackie Samoskevich. Samoskevich provides depth scoring and could ultimately replace Patrick Kane’s place in the lineup if not his offensive production. The Red Wings need depth scoring, so a 23 year old winger capable of potting 10-15 goals would help the cause.

So putting a bow on it, here’s what I think Yzerman would want from Bill Zito:

To Florida:

Dylan Larkin

To Detroit:

Anton Lundell, 2026 9th overall pick, Mackie Samoskevich

Does Zito agree to pull the trigger on that deal? The Panthers are in win now mode, and the loss of Sahsa Barkov derailed their season. Adding another top 2 center firmly in his prime puts them back in the conversation for Stanley Cup favorites, but he gives up his best young center in return.

So in looking at the three options where we know for a fact Dylan Larkin would waive his no-trade clause, I think the Florida Panthers are the only team of the three that could a) provide adequate value and b) address Detroit’s biggest need in any deal that involves shipping out Dylan Larkin.