Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon ranks the potential team “fits” for Dylan Larkin today, suggesting that the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild can all accommodate Larkin’s trade desires.
Yerdon suggests that the Minnesota Wild remain the best fit for Larkin at this time:
1. Minnesota Wild
One of the players Larkin hit it off with instantly during the Four Nations Face-Off and at the Olympics was Wild forward Matt Boldy.
The instant chemistry those two had in both tournaments was probably enough for everyone involved to wonder, “what if?” When you factor in Quinn Hughes’ play during Team USA’s gold-medal run to go along with Boldy, you can almost not blame Larkin for wondering if the grass is that much greener in Minnesota.
After all, the Wild were one of the best teams in the NHL last season while the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season and now own the NHL’s longest playoff drought. Given that Wild GM Bill Guerin was also Team USA’s GM, the connections are easy to make.
Viewed through the middle of the ice, Larkin turns Minnesota from solid to scary. With Eriksson Ek and Yurov in the top six and Hartman and McCarron in the bottom six, inserting Larkin on the first line would give the Wild a true top playmaking center and a better counter to Western Conference heavyweights such as MacKinnon, McDavid and Eichel.
You can make a strong case that, within reason, any package Minnesota has to pay in players or picks is worth it to land an impact center like Larkin.
Continued; the Red Wings would be asking for one of Eriksson Ek or Danila Yurov in any trade for Larkin, as well as a top prospect and a 1st round pick.
At this point, we’ve all gotten used to the concept that the Wings are being offered a 1st round pick, Yurov and top prospect Charlie Stramel in return by Wild GM Bill Guerin.
I do NOT believe that the Red Wings will only settle for Matt Boldy in return, though I’m sure he’s their initial “ask”…
But Detroit’s got to get more than a 1st, Yurov and Stramel for Larkin, regardless of whether it’s a “future asset” or a present-day player. Yurov is a middle-six center, Stramel is definitely a top prospect (who doesn’t want to leave his native Minnesota, by the way) and maybe multiple 1st round picks would get things done, or perhaps the Wings would “flip” the 1st rounder to another team for another center.
You can check out the Wild’s depth chart on EliteProspects if you’re looking for more players to hypothetically be included in a Larkin trade.
