After Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck, the real debate is which name gets moved next, and the DFO Roundtable had no shortage of ideas.
Matt Larkin went straight to Erik Karlsson, pointing to a Pittsburgh Penguins team that caught a lot of breaks last season on its way back to the playoffs. This year looks different already.
The Penguins are dealing with a growing list of absences, including injured Bryan Rust and Benjamin Kindel, plus Andrei Kuzmenko’s leave until late this week following the death of his father. If the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers surge back into the bracket and knock out a couple of 2025-26 playoff teams in the East, Pittsburgh could be one of the clubs squeezed out.
And if that happens, Karlsson should draw plenty of attention. He’s a pending UFA, still has good hockey left, and remains a right-shot puck-mover chasing his first Stanley Cup.
Steven Ellis landed on Alex DeBrincat, and the case is simple: Detroit is struggling, and DeBrincat is exactly the kind of player contenders chase. The Red Wings winger is 28, a pending UFA, and has lived in the 40-goal neighborhood throughout his career.
Coming off his best season yet, he would be an attractive add for a legitimate contender, especially with the UFA market getting quieter as more of the top names sign early. Ellis also noted that DeBrincat could be in line for a huge payday this summer, which makes this a logical time for Detroit to consider moving him before he reaches the open market.
Paul Pidutti’s pick was Ryan O’Reilly, and he built the argument around everything that makes a rental valuable. Barry Trotz respected O’Reilly’s wish to stay beyond the 2026 Trade Deadline, but that could shift this season with his contract running through 2027.
O’Reilly checks every box: he’s an unrestricted free agent without trade protection, carries a low $4.5 Million AAV, has a Conn Smythe Trophy on his résumé, and still brings the kind of all-situations game and faceoff ability contenders pay for. Nashville isn’t expected to contend, and with the Predators building up their farm system through the draft, O’Reilly looks like the sort of player teams will bid up hard before the March 1 deadline.
Scott Maxwell took the biggest swing of the group and named Quinn Hughes. The wrinkle here is that Hughes was traded last year already, but Maxwell says the situation has shifted enough to make another move possible.
With no extension in place, the chance that Hughes wants to hold off and eventually join the New Jersey Devils to play with his brothers keeps growing. Maxwell suggested that if the Minnesota Wild continue at a slow enough pace, Bill Guerin could decide to move on from the blueliner rather than risk losing him for less than what was paid to get him.
Or the Wild could keep him through the season and sort it out on July 1. Either way, Maxwell doesn’t see the oldest brother staying in Minnesota by this time next year.
Anthony Trudeau went a different direction, arguing that Vince Dunn deserves more attention as a trade candidate. He pointed out that if Dunn had been locked into Seattle long-term, he probably would have signed three years ago.
The Kraken still haven’t reached the postseason since he signed his four-year bridge deal, and Trudeau said Seattle would be making the wrong move either way if it keeps Dunn around for seven more years just to preserve the status quo, or lets a 50-point defenseman who has handled heavy minutes walk away for nothing. He added that Jared McCann, Seattle’s all-time leading goalscorer, could also finish the final months of his contract somewhere else.
In Other News...
Red Wings Suddenly Have A Marco Kasper Concern After Opening Night
Marco Kaspers opening night with the Red Wings already came with a jolt, and now Detroit has a little more reason to keep an eye on its young center. Kasper is dealing with an upper-body injury, which is the kind of early-season issue that can quickly alter a teams plans, especially for a player still trying to carve out a bigger role.
The concern is not just the absence itself, but how it arrived in a game where Kasper was involved physically and left the kind of impression that tends to linger beyond the final buzzer. Detroit is still sorting through its lineup options, and with the schedule moving fast, the Red Wings are already facing an immediate question about how long they may have to manage without him. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Suddenly Have Another Core Player Standoff To Solve
The Red Wings are already juggling enough uncertainty, and now another young piece of their future has become part of the picture. Simon Edvinsson, a restricted free agent on the back end, is in a standoff with Detroit as the club continues to push for an extension while the players side is not engaged in talks. With Dylan Larkins trade request still hanging over the roster and no permanent general manager in place, the organization suddenly has another core decision to navigate.
Edvinssons situation is especially notable because he has already returned to Sweden and is back with Frolunda HC after training camp. For Detroit, that only adds to the awkward timing of a negotiation that is supposed to help settle the blue lines future, not cloud it further. Instead, the Wings are left trying to sort out whether one of their promising defensemen will eventually be part of the long-term plan or become the next unresolved issue on a team that cant afford many more. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face One Costly Question In Any Lucas Raymond Pursuit
Detroits summer has already carried enough turbulence to make any new trade rumor land with extra force. With captain Dylan Larkin already having asked out and defenseman Simon Edvinsson still unsigned while reportedly preferring a move, the Red Wings are staring at a messy stretch in which almost anything feels possible as the organization tries to sort out its next direction.
That is why the Lucas Raymond chatter has drawn so much attention, especially with Edmonton floated as a possible partner if Detroit ever decides to take a bigger swing at a rebuild. Any pursuit would have to clear a steep price, and the kind of return being discussed would be the sort of package that forces both sides to think hard about timing, fit, and how much pain they are willing to absorb for a player with Raymonds upside. [Read more 🡒]