The Detroit Red Wings are still in the same spot with Dylan Larkin, and nothing in the market has pushed them off it.
Two months have passed since Larkin asked for a trade, and according to Helene St. James, he still has not broadened his list beyond the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights.
Detroit, meanwhile, is holding firm on what it wants back: “value-now players” for Larkin. So far, the offers that have come in haven’t moved the needle.
Elsewhere in the NHL rumor mill, the conversation turned to how the Philadelphia Flyers might have made the Leo Carlsson offer sheet even tougher for the Anaheim Ducks to match.
On The Sheet with Jeff Marek, Steve Werier was asked whether Philadelphia could have added another layer to the deal through the bonus structure. Marek put it this way: “If you were the Philadelphia Flyers then, in retrospect, if you wanted to throw another poison pill into this one, could you have done it with the bonus structure. And if so, how?
Werier’s answer centered on timing, not just money. He said he would not have tried to “bully Henry and the ducks” with a $40 million front-loaded structure, adding, “I don’t think Henry gets bullied by that. I don’t think the Ducks get bullied by that in the end.”
Instead, Werier said he would have moved the year-two signing bonus to the day after the 2027-28 trade deadline, something allowed under the CBA. In his view, that would have changed the pressure point entirely.
As Werier explained, the current setup would let Anaheim point to a player on a $1 million salary in 2027-28 and shop him to teams like Winnipeg or Columbus. But if that bonus were pushed to after the deadline, the burden would shift to the acquiring club: “here’s a great player, but you own $18 million cash.”
In Other News...
Flyers Fans Can Feel Danny Briere Lining Up One More Big Swing
The Flyers have already shown they are willing to be aggressive, and the recent record-setting offer sheet for Leo Carlsson made that point clear even though Anaheim matched it. Between that swing and the additions of goaltender Joseph Woll and forward Noel Acciari, Danny Briere has kept the roster-building conversation moving fast, with the front office clearly open to creative ways of adding depth and upside.
If Philadelphia wants to keep pressing, Adam Fantilli is the obvious next young center to watch as a possible offer-sheet target, though the price in draft compensation changes sharply depending on the number attached to the deal. The broader picture is even more intriguing because the Flyers are not just shopping for depth anymore, they are at least being discussed in the kind of big-move territory that can reshape a lineup if the right opening appears. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Linked To Another Young Center Fans Have Been Waiting For
With the Anaheim Ducks matching the offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, the Flyers are back in the market for help down the middle, and the search has already turned toward a younger option who could fit their long-term plans. Philadelphia has been trying to add a legitimate top-six center, and the appeal here is obvious: a player with enough offensive upside to help sooner rather than later, while still leaving room for growth.
What makes this possibility interesting is the balance between present need and future ceiling. The Flyers are not just looking for a stopgap at second-line center, and the right target could eventually push into an even bigger role if his game keeps trending up. For a team still trying to stabilize its center depth, that kind of upside is exactly why this name is worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Goalie Prospect Timeline Just Took An Unexpected Turn
Matvei Michkovs offseason has stayed on a steady track in Russia, where the Flyers winger is working with a trainer the team knows well. That trainer spent about three weeks with him last month, and Michkov is expected back in the Philadelphia area in early August to keep building toward training camp.
Elsewhere in the organizations orbit, the goalie pipeline is taking a slower route than some might have expected. Columbus prospect Sergei Ivanov is set to spend one more season on loan with SKA St. Petersburg before making the move to North America, a reminder that even for teams trying to stock the future, the timeline for young talent can still be shaped by patience as much as promise. [Read more 🡒]