The Athletic’s Joe Smith provides a Minnesota Wild-centric update regarding one Dylan Larkin:
Is Dylan Larkin still in play? What are the backup options?
Larkin is still in play, though things have been pretty quiet on that end. Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is clearly being patient, looking for the right return for the face of his franchise. Yzerman said during a rare media availability around the NHL Draft that there’s no guarantee he will follow through on Larkin’s trade request. We’ve seen him hold his ground before. It certainly wouldn’t surprise us if September arrives and Larkin hasn’t moved. Ansar Khan of MLive.com reported that Larkin extended his list of preferred teams by one, adding the Dallas Stars to a group that includes the Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers.
According to Smith, the Wild appear to be ready to “wait out” the Red Wings while their other trade partners make summertime moves…
The Wild have made their offer for Larkin, but it appears it’s not enough for Detroit, which is now looking for rostered players versus futures, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. So, things appear at a standstill. The best bet for the Wild is to end up as the last suitor after other teams have already made their big moves this summer. Dallas still has to work out what to do with star RFA Jason Robertson. The closer this saga gets to training camp, the more uncomfortable it’ll probably be for Detroit if Larkin hasn’t moved. While the Wild don’t have a lot of cap space remaining this season — around $2 million at this point — they have the ability to create some room.
When asked a couple weeks ago if there’s still a path forward for a top center, Wild GM Bill Guerin said, “We remain flexible. Right now, we’re just focused on the guys we’ve got. We’ll look at everything that’s out there, and if there’s something that makes sense that’ll make our team better, we’ll do it.”
You’re gonna get a “me, neither” here…
As for the Nick Kypreos report that the Red Wings would want Matt Boldy in a Larkin trade, we don’t see a scenario where the Wild would move on from the winger.
And, as Smith notes, there aren’t really any back-up plans for Minnesota at this point.
When it comes to backup plans, it’s difficult to say based on which players are still available. You saw Vincent Trocheck traded to the Utah Mammoth, and he was a Plan B for a lot of teams. There are no slam-dunk acquisitions left, but those opportunities could present themselves as the summer or season progresses. Our read is that Guerin would likely wait if the Wild can’t trade for Larkin. As of right now, the team’s centers will be Joel Eriksson Ek, Danila Yurov, Michael McCarron and Ryan Hartman, with both Nick Foligno and Nico Sturm possibly serving as options to allow for Hartman to move into a wing spot in the middle six.
Smith continues with Wild-related topics (paywall)…
