Dylan Larkin wants out. Steve Yzerman seems to be asking him a simple question: how badly?
Of the three original teams on Larkin's reported trade list, none appear to have the assets to acquire him.
The Panthers might, if they decide they're willing to move 24-year-old center Anton Lundell, but that alone wouldn't be enough. The Golden Knights might have, before they sent rising star Pavel Dorofeyev to the Rangers. The Wild clearly do not, unless they get a third team involved or decide they're willing to move 25-year-old winger Matt Boldy. You can bet they are not.
Yzerman, it's safe to assume, doesn't want futures in exchange for one of the three centers in the NHL who's scored 30 goals each of the last five seasons; he might have otherwise landed the three first-round picks that Florida sent to Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk. He wants roster players to avoid prolonging a rebuild that's already 10 years old.
So Yzerman waits, either for one of the aforementioned teams to put together a package that meets his demands, or for Larkin to widen his pool of suitors: Help me help you.
It does sound like Larkin is open to expanding his list, and that he might have already done so. His agent said last week after Yzerman addressed Larkin's trade request for the first time that "we’re trying to work as a ‘team’ together on this to reach each of our goals, so to speak."
“I do understand that Steve and the organization have to do what’s best for the Red Wings," said Pat Brisson, via The Athletic.
Here, then, are four additional teams to watch.
Dallas
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The Stars made sense as a landing spot for Larkin from the jump. They're a clear Cup contender, and they have a premium player facing an uncertain future in Dallas: three-time 40-goal scorer Jason Robertson, who turns 27 in July. Robertson is a restricted free agent angling for a contract in the neighborhood of $14 million per year. He and the Stars are said to be at an impasse. He would surely appeal to Detroit.
Question is, would Detroit appeal to Robertson? He already reportedly turned down a sign-and-trade offer from the Kraken that would have paid him $15 million annually over eight years. He's not going just anywhere for the money. Is he going to a Red Wings team that hasn't made the playoffs in 10 years? That wouldn't have a No. 1 center for him to play with, barring another trade?
And, with Alex DeBrincat in line for an extension in Detroit, is Yzerman willing to commit $25 million per year to a pair of wingers? All valid questions, although the Red Wings aren't really in position to be getting picky about game-breaking talent. They need more of it, period.
One factor potentially working in the Wings' favor: Robertson's family moved to Metro Detroit when he was 10. This is where he launched his hockey career. For Robertson, returning to a place that's been home might increase the Red Wings' appeal.
The Stars, meanwhile, would get their hands on a cost-controlled, goal-scoring center. Between Larkin, Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene, Dallas would be lethal down the middle as it tries to break through in the West. Hintz, by the way, is another name to watch in a swap for Larkin, but the Stars would have to sweeten the package to make it work.
If Yzerman wants to potentially replace Larkin while trading him, Dallas has the surplus of centers to make it work.
Tampa Bay
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Another contender that would fit what Larkin is seeking: an immediate chance to chase the Cup. And the Lightning might have what the Red Wings are seeking in NHL-ready players/prospects. There's also the built-in relationship between Yzerman and his successor in Tampa, Julien BriseBois.
The best chip here is probably J.J. Moser, a 26-year-old, 6'2, left-shot defenseman who played top-pair minutes for Tampa last season in the absence of Victor Hedman. Moser recently signed an eight-year extension at $6.75 million annually that kicks in next season, so the Lightning would be loath to give him up, especially having already traded Darren Raddysh this summer. But the Wings would be right to ask.
An intriguing name given his ties to Yzerman and his ability to replace some of what Detroit would be losing in Larkin: Anthony Cirelli, a perennial Selke candidate on a good contract for five more seasons who's grown into a 20-goal, 50-point center in a No. 2 role. The catch: Cirelli has a full no-trade clause. Would spreading his, uhm, wings as a potential No. 1 be a reason to waive it?
Cirelli alone wouldn't be enough, but he'd be an interesting start. Other pieces who could interest Detroit: 25-year-old forward Gage Concalves, a former second-round pick who can play center and showed some promising signs for the Lightning last season. He fits the two-way mold of a lot of Yzerman's recent first-round picks. (We can hear you groaning.)
And Tampa's top two prospects: Conor Geekie, a 6'4 center/wing with real offensive upside who was drafted 11th overall in 2024 and has spent parts of the past two seasons in the NHL, and center Sam O'Reilly, a fellow first-round pick in 2024 who just led his team in playoff scoring while helping the Kitchener Rangers win the OHL championship.
Jon Cooper and the Lightning know exactly what kind of asset they'd be getting in Larkin, having seen him lots in the Atlantic. Larkin and Brayden Point would give Tampa a dynamic duo between star wingers Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel and Larkin's Team USA pal Jake Guentzel, as the Lightning try to squeeze a few more runs at the Cup out of franchise icons like Hedman, Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
New Jersey
The Devils are a better team than last year's record would indicate when they were missing Jack Hughes for a good chunk of the season. And Hughes is exactly why we're here: If Larkin wants to join forces with his USA friends, could the idea of teaming up with Jack, Luke and potentially Quinn lure him to New Jersey?
The Devils might not be Cup contenders with a top duo of Jack and Larkin -- and Luke anchoring the blueline -- but what if they added Quinn via free agency next summer? And don't you think the Hughes boys have already thought about it? (Maybe Jack and Quinn even planted a seed with Larkin at the Olympics.)
The last time they had a fully healthy Jack Hughes, the Devils reached the second round of the playoffs.
This likely only works for the Red Wings if Nico Hischier is coming back. And that's probably a non-starter for the Devils, who have reportedly agreed to a five-year, $58.8 million extension with Hischier that will kick in for the 2027-28 season. But, again, Yzerman would be right to make the ask.
Hischier, the first overall pick in 2017, is 27 years old and has shown the ability to be a 30-goal scorer and point-per-game producer in the NHL. His resume looks a lot like Larkin's did at this juncture of their careers.
The Devils, if they're involved here, would likely offer 24-year-old forward Dawson Mercer instead. And Mercer is no slouch, a former first-round pick with three 20-goal seasons in five years in the NHL. Like Moritz Seider, he hasn't missed a game since he debuted in 2020-21.
But Mercer has had more success as a winger than a center and doesn't feel like enough as the featured piece in a package for Larkin.
Carolina
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Hurricanes haven't been afraid to swing big under GM Eric Tulsky. Could the Stanley Cup champs take a hack at Larkin? Would they offer up either Logan Stankoven or Seth Jarvis?
Jarvis, 24, has three straight 30-goal seasons, the ability to play center and a cap hit of just $7.4 million for the next six seasons. In other words: already a more valuable asset than Larkin. So, no.
Stankoven, 23, is the more realistic target. Carolina views him as a central piece behind Sebastian Aho, having locked him up for eight years at $6 million annually, but this would be a fair ask on the part of Yzerman. Stankoven is still in the 2C category, and might not have the size to ever be more than that. He had 21 goals and 44 points last season, with more production coming.
What about burly 25-year-old winger Andrei Svechnikov, who's coming off a bounceback season where he scored 31 goals? Svechnikov, who's signed for three more seasons at $7.75 million year, would bring a lot of the elements Detroit is missing. And how bout 24-year-old, 6'3, left-shot defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who garnered Rookie of the Year votes last season?
Yzerman would also likely inquire about Carolina's top prospect Bradley Nadeau, a late first-round pick in 2023 who saw some action in the NHL last season. He's a talented goal-scoring winger who, in time, could help fill out Detroit's top six.
The obvious question here: Why would Carolina mess with a core that just won it all? Sure, Larkin would represent an upgrade at center and give the Hurricanes a terrific one-two punch with Aho. And his skating would absolutely mesh with Rod Brind'Amour's go-go-go system.
But the Hurricanes don't need upgrades. And they don't need Larkin. Just don't sleep on Tulsky.
