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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…

Continue reading The Minnesota Wild may be ‘waiting it out’ for Dylan Larkin

The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari examined the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects this afternoon, discussing the Wings’ surplus of young players on both collective and individual bases.

He discusses the Wings’ top prospects in general, the players most likely to play this season, the under-23 prospect corps, the Wings’ 2026 NHL Draft class, and the prospect pool’s strengths and weaknesses. Here’s his introduction:

Every time the Red Wings are close to reaching the post-season again, they find themselves falling apart in March and April.

Fortunately for them, their prospect pool includes big-game performers or high-motor guys who could find themselves playing important minutes when things get tough.

Continue reading THN’s Ferrari examines the Red Wings’ prospect pool

The NHL Network weighed in on The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta’s report that disgruntled Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has added the Dallas Stars to his teams-to-trade-me list, which currently includes the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild:

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau discusses potential landing spots for Patrick Kane today, and he adds this snippet about Kane’s potential return to Detroit (which seems unlikely at this point):

The Red Wings do have about $19.6 million in cap space, so if Kane wants to go to the highest bidder, it could be Detroit. But it’s starting to feel like Kane doesn’t want to settle for Detroit.

And why would Kane want to hitch his wagon to a Wings team that will likely take a step back when they trade captain Dylan Larkin? Detroit could prove to be the worst team in the Atlantic this year, and the 37-year-old Kane doesn’t have long to go before he’ll be retired. If he wants to join the most competitive team that wants him without moving too far, the Sabres or Maple Leafs make a lot of sense for Kane.

He may be an NHL senior citizen, but Kane still has something to offer. As a decorated, three-time Stanley Cup champion, he’s earned the respect of his peers, and he’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Kane may have just enough left to write a storybook ending to a dazzling, unforgettable hockey career.

Continued; again, this is just my “gut feeling,” but I have a sense that Kane has not signed with anyone yet in no small part because he wants to see where Dylan Larkin ends up–Kane and Larkin happen to have the same agent in Pat Brisson–and I would not rule out Detroit completely.

Why? His family situation was excellent in Detroit, the Red Wings treated him well, and if we’re talking about what things feel like for those who cover this game, I just still believe that there’s a bit of loyalty to the Wings still stirring in Kane, even if it’s fading at this point.

Where will he go? That’s up to Patrick Kane. But I would not be surprised if this situation, like Dylan Larkin’s, takes all summer to resolve itself.

Red Wings goaltender John Gibson turns 33 today:

🥳🎂 pic.twitter.com/h2ewiLZ7ML

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 14, 2026

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin discusses the “Stanley Cup Windows” of the Atlantic Division’s 8 franchises this morning, and, as you might expect, he’s not bullish on the Detroit Red Wings’ rebuild:

Detroit Red Wings

Cheering for this once-proud franchise has to be demoralizing. From the 10-year playoff drought, to the fact GM Steve Yzerman has stubbornly refused to take risks and trade his prospects for immediate help, to the fact he went all-in overpaying mediocre middle-six forwards a few summers back…and now the Dylan Larkin trade request. Not only does the latter cast doubt on the Wings’ ability to contend in a vicious division, but it holds the whole team hostage, as it’s hard to sign or extend players when they’re unsure of the team’s trajectory. Look at 2027 UFA Alex DeBrincat; he’s a local boy living his dream, but will he want to stay if the Wings miss the playoffs an 11^th consecutive season given his only playoff experience came in 2020? It feels like Detroit’s best path forward is a GM change, but it’s never easy to fire a man who walks on water because of what he accomplished for the franchise as a player.

Continued; yes, it can be demoralizing to cheer for Detroit.

Yes, Dylan Larkin is essentially holding the team’s summertime moves and fan base hostage, and Steve Yzerman has little choice but to “wait out” the situation until he receives a good return for Larkin;

Yes, Yzerman has made mistakes as GM, especially in terms of overpaying the Andrew Copps and J.T. Comphers of the world.

But no, he does not walk on water because of what he’s done as a player–he serves at the will of the Ilitch family, who just aren’t going to fire him right now.

And no, the Red Wings are not a “Window Smashed” team, at least if the team’s prospects help whoever constitutes the post-Dylan Larkin Red Wings team to scratch and claw their way back into the Atlantic Division.

Things are bleak in Detroit right now. They aren’t hopeless.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted a list of his top 100 drafted NHL skater prospects this morning, and, while the Red Wings’ deep pool of prospects receive 6 mentions…

Axel Sandin Pellikka cracks the top 50 at #47, Carter Bear is ranked #59th, J.P. Hurlbert is ranked #64th, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is raned #66th, Nate Danielson is ranked #85th, and Max Plante is ranked #89th.

In other words, the Red Wings’ prospect corps has to prove doubters wrong in terms of their potential NHL impacts. As usual.

Here’s what Wheeler has to say about ASP:

Continue reading The Red Wings’ prospects earn 6 mentions (5 in the back half) on Scott Wheeler’s ‘Top 100 NHL Drafted Prospects’ list

DobberHockey’s Khurram Sher talks up Red Wings back-up goaltender Daniil Tarasov this morning, suggesting that the 6’5,” 196-pound goaltender may very well assume the #1 goaltender’s mantle if John Gibson falters this upcoming season:

Daniil Tarasov (Florida Panthers to Detroit Red Wings)

Daniil Tarasov was a 3rd round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2017, and played 33 games as the understudy to Sergei Bobrovsky last year in Florida. He finished the season 13-15-3, with a 0.895%, and a quality start percentage of 51.5%. Tarasov was plucked from free agency and signed to a 1 year, $2-million contract.

In Detroit, he finds himself behind John Gibson on the depth chart, and Gibson was an Oreo cookie in Detroit: starting slow (4-7-1, 0.865% in October and November) and ending slow (6-10-2, 0.892% in March and April). In between, he was dynamite (19-4-1, 0.925% in December, January, and February combined, per ESPN).

Gibson has had a history of injuries and always misses at least a few games from being banged up. He has remained relatively healthy starting 56, 52, 44, 28, and 57 games over the past five years. However, he is now 32 years old, and in a contract year.

The Red Wings will gladly give plenty of looks to Tarasov to evaluate if he can bridge the gap to Trey Augustine in the post-Gibson world. Keep an eye out on Gibson’s health or poor play; it could lead to an opening for Tarasov. His father, Vadim Tarasov, played in nets for many years in Russia with Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

Continued with other “faces in new places“…

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.

Continue reading Are the Minnesota Wild the inevitable destination for Dylan Larkin?

Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith suggests that the Red Wings must promote Alex DeBrincat to the top line to unleash his full potential.

Given that the Wings may end up utilizing Andrew Copp as an interim #1 center, and given Lucas Raymond’s self-driven evolution into an elite playmaker as opposed to a 35-goal-scorer, I agree with Smith’s argument:

The 28-year-old Farmington Hills-born forward is known for his speed and ability to shoot the puck from just about any point of the ice, but one wonders if he has been somewhat limited by having to stay on the second line.

With 37-year-old Kane likely not returning to the roster, the Red Wings have no reason not to put their best goal-scorer with their best center and best winger on the other side, Lucas Raymond.

Not only would putting DeBrincat on the top line likely help to drive the Red Wings’ offense, but it would also help to alleviate pressure on some of the Red Wings’ younger players. Marco Kasper and Emmitt Finnie spent most of their rookie campaigns on the top line wing. The jury is still out for what Finnie’s sophomore season will look like, but Kasper seemed to take a major step back this last season and bounced around the lineup.

With DeBrincat partnered with Larkin and Raymond, the second line would be able to field two experienced veterans in Andrew Copp and Viktor Arvidsson to help the development of Finnie, taking away some of the tougher assignments expected when you play 20+ minutes a night.

Of course, that only temporarily solves the problem. DeBrincat’s only signed through the end of the year, and Larkin still wants out. But it looks like the best of a bad group of options, and this one, Red Wings fans should be able to stomach.

Continued at length; I believe that DeBrincat should play with whoever the Wings end up using as their #1 center.

He’s proven to have the forechecking, playmaking and back-checking abilities necessary for top-line duty, and, with Kane likely out of the picture, there’s just no reason to not stack the top line as best as Detroit can.