Red Wings beat writers Ansar Khan, Helene St. James and Ted Kulfan weighed in on the Dylan Larkin situation on Thursday afternoon.
Khan wrote an article about the dynamics of Larkin as a moving target…
–Larkin has a full no-trade clause and originally agreed to waive it for only three teams (Florida, Minnesota and Vegas), though he’s reportedly expanded it since to include Dallas and perhaps more clubs
–Yzerman surely wants a player or two who can step into the lineup, preferably a top-line center to replace Larkin. Teams in a win-now mode generally don’t move key players, only prospects and draft picks.
–The Red Wings might need a third team to facilitate the trade. In this scenario, Larkin would be dealt to one of his preferred destinations (Minnesota, for example), that team would send futures (picks, prospects) to another team and that other club would send an NHL-ready player or two to Detroit. Complex deals like this take time.
–Larkin in his prime will be the most prominent player Yzerman has traded during his tenure as GM in Tampa Bay or Detroit. He must get the best possible deal and can’t afford to settle for less.
–Larkin has five years remaining on his contract at an average annual value of $8.7 million. As much as it helps to know what you’re getting for him so that you can make other moves accordingly, there is no urgency to rush into a trade.
The Free Press’s St. James spoke with WDET 101.9 FM’s Pat Batcheller about Larkin (and the embedded 6:53 audio interview is worth your time)…
St. James says Yzerman doesn’t have to trade Larkin. If he does, he would want a similar player in return.
“He would need to get an established NHL player in his mid-to late-20s who can play center,” she says. “They really need value players now.”
Larkin listed the Florida Panthers as one of his preferred destinations. They won the Stanley Cup in 2025 but missed the postseason in 2026. And they have already made a big roster move that makes a deal for Larkin unlikely.
Florida acquired Larkin’s Olympics teammate Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators on June 21. Like Larkin, Tkachuk was a team captain and their statistics are similar. But Tkachuk is three years younger than Larkin. And the Panthers gave up several draft picks, including two first-rounders in this year’s draft.
St. James says trading Larkin for draft picks would set Detroit’s rebuild back by several years.
“Those guys are not going to materialize into NHL contributors for a few years, especially later in the draft,” she says.
She also agrees with the fans’ belief that Moritz Seider should be the Wings’ next captain:
“He has emerged as a leader in every respect, on the ice and off the ice,” she says. “He shows up all the time.”
And the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan frames the Larkin trade talk within the larger topic of Detroit’s sparse NHL Draft picks ahead of tomorrow and Saturday’s 2026 Draft in Buffalo:
Larkin is concentrating on teams in contention to make the playoffs and make a run toward a Stanley Cup. Those teams are thinking of Larkin as a final piece to a puzzle, and they usually aren’t willing to take away from their roster, preferring to trade prospects or draft picks.
The Wings, who’ve missed the playoffs the last 10 consecutive years, aren’t as interested in gathering more draft picks or prospects, especially for a player like Larkin, who is a consistent 30-goal scorer.
With Florida likely out of the bidding for Larkin after having acquired forward Brady Tkachuk on Sunday, teams such as Dallas, Minnesota, Vegas and Utah might be considered possibilities to land Larkin if a trade can be worked out.
But Yzerman is being patient in his approach — he’s in no hurry to deal Larkin — and could wait into September’s training camp or beyond to deal Larkin if the right trade isn’t there.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Red Wings have the following picks in rounds 2 through 7 of the draft on Saturday morning: 47, 79, 143, 175, 196 and 207.
