Detroit’s search for a Dylan Larkin trade partner is already turning into a game of who can blink first - and who can stomach the price.
Larkin remains out without pay as the Red Wings work through the market, and he has handed over a list of 10 teams he would accept a deal with. The Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild are on that list, but Minnesota appears to be the club making the loudest push.
The biggest twist in all of this may be what Detroit already turned away. The Athletic’s Michael Russo said that if Red Wings fans knew what GM Steve Yzerman originally declined from the Wild back in June, “they’d throw up.”
Russo did not spell out the exact package, but his comment makes clear that it was stronger than what Minnesota is offering now. He also said the Wild’s current proposal, reportedly 22-year-old forward Danila Yurov and multiple first-round picks, “doesn’t look like it’s gonna get it done.”
Minnesota’s urgency makes sense. The Wild have a bigger center need than most teams in the mix, which helps explain why they keep pressing.
Their offer has also shifted, in part because they have other business to handle with defenseman Quinn Hughes. There has been speculation that Minnesota could be putting Yurov and three first-round picks on the table, but Elliotte Friedman reported that if Detroit truly wanted that package, the trade would already be finished.
Carolina is another possible landing spot, though the fit is not as clean as the name value might suggest. A recent Heavy.com proposal had the Hurricanes sending Alexander Nikishin, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and prospects Joel Nystrom and Felix Unger-Sorum to Detroit for Larkin. In that version, Carolina could also flip one prospect for a pair of picks, which would give the Red Wings more draft capital to work with.
Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz made the case that Larkin would make sense in Carolina because he spent a decade on losing teams and would now be joining a steady contender with first-round capital, a strong farm system and cap flexibility.
Still, the center depth chart is the problem. Carolina already has Logan Stankoven, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal down the middle, so the Hurricanes do not exactly have a glaring need for Larkin. And if their offer cannot match what Minnesota has already put forward, Detroit may keep waiting for a better one.
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What stands out most is how his speed changes the way Carolina can enter the zone and get set up, especially on the power play and in transition. The underlying numbers have backed up the eye test, too, with strong expected goals-for impact and a knack for creating offense off the rush, which makes him a dangerous secondary scorer the Hurricanes can lean on as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]