Updated at 9:40 AM: The Athletic’s Chris Johnston updated his NHL “trade board” for the 5th time this morning, and he discusses the potential fates of two current members of the Red Wings’ organization:
2. Dylan Larkin
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
2025-26 stats: 34 goals, 67 points, 74 games
Age: 29
Contract: $8.7 million AAV through 2031; no-trade clause becomes 10-team no-trade list in 2028-29Larkin is a speedy two-way center who is an ever-present threat to score. He can handle big minutes and tough checking assignments and is known as a competitive player who battles his way to the difficult areas of the ice. While his playoff experience is limited to just five games, Larkin was a strong performer for Team USA at the Milan Olympics and 4 Nations Face-Off. His contract makes him an even more attractive asset because he’s locked in at a reasonable rate of $8.7 million for the next five seasons. The Vegas Golden Knights — one of his favored destinations — could be lurking in the weeds here.
The thing that pisses me off the most about losing Larkin is that he drives play, and it’s rare to find a driver of play.
Anyway, I don’t think that the Wings will trade Larkin to Vegas without Pavel Dorofeyev in return, and I don’t believe that the Golden Knights are interested in moving Dorofeyev, so we may see a “futures” flip with a third team if that situation works out.
Let’s move on to discuss Sebastian Cossa’s situation:
34. Sebastian Cossa
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Position: Goaltender
2025-26 stats: Played in AHL
Age: 23
Contract: Restricted free agentThe top goaltender selected in the 2021 NHL Draft found himself struggling to get playing time at the end of the AHL season behind Grand Rapids teammate Michal Postava. With Trey Augustine, another top goaltending prospect, also in the pipeline and Cossa no longer exempt from waivers starting next year, the most prudent play for Detroit may be to deal him for other assets this summer. Cossa is a big, athletic goaltender who spent three seasons with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and is viewed as a potential trade target for the Oilers.
As I said yesterday, Cossa’s pair of second-half-of-the-season letdowns in the AHL two seasons ago and this past season seem to have shaken the Wings’ faith in Cossa, who turns 24 in November.
And again, the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson and the Edmonton press have been suggesting that Cossa is a “fit” to help solve Edmonton’s goaltending issues for a couple of months now.
Update: Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses how the Jason Robertson situation in Dallas may affect Larkin’s trade trajectory:
With the Dallas Stars unable thus far to re-sign [Robertson], they have tried to trade him. They reportedly worked out a deal with the Seattle Kraken contingent on their ability to sign Robertson. But Robertson reportedly turned down a deal for $15 million per season. The best guess was he simply didn’t want to play in Seattle because it doesn’t seem likely he will receive more than $15 million.
The reason that deal could have been important to the Red Wings was that the Stars are interested in Dylan Larkin. Some assets the Stars were going to receive may have been coming back to the Red Wings. The Kraken have the No. 7 pick in tonight’s NHL draft.
Robertson’s Seattle rejection doesn’t mean that the Stars couldn’t work out a deal with the Red Wings or with another team that would provide the Stars a collection of assets that could be flipped.
But there are other teams on Larkin’s list that are trying to make a trade work. The Minnesota Wild want Larkin but don’t have the right assets to make a deal with Detroit. There’s been speculation that the Wild are trying to make the Larkin deal by enlisting a third team as part of the negotiations.
The scenarios are changing regularly. What hasn’t changed: If Larkin is traded, the Red Wings need a No. 1 and a No. 2 center and a scoring winger. They need more scoring. They have to find that with aggressiveness in the trade or UFA markets.
The “trade him for future assets and flip ’em for present help” scenario sounds more and more likely right now.
