A new trade pitch aimed at the Detroit Red Wings and published on Tuesday solves the ongoing Dylan Larkin problem in an emphatic way, bringing back a blockbuster haul topped by six-year veteran goalie Filip Gustavsson and a pair of first-round draft picks. But if the trade pitch became reality, would both teams accept it?
The suspended Detroit Red Wings center would command no fewer than seven assets, including the two prime picks, under the proposed trade published by the roster-building site PuckGM.
The proposal, built on PuckPedia’s PuckGM trade simulator, would send Gustavsson, forwards Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov, 2027 and 2028 first-rounders and the signing rights to prospects Ryder Ritchie and Aron Kiviharju to Detroit. Minnesota would get Larkin. That’s it. Just Larkin.
Larkin, 30, is a Waterford, Michigan, native drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2014 after 47 points in 35 games at Michigan. He scored a career-high 34 goals in 2025-26, then requested a trade and was stripped of the captaincy. When his agent told Detroit on Oct. 29 that he would no longer play, the Red Wings suspended him without pay, costing him about $41,000 a day.
Dylan Larkin Trade Brings Red Wings Young Talent
Yurov, 22, a Chelyabinsk, Russia, native drafted 24th overall in 2022, won a Gagarin Cup in the KHL before scoring 12 goals and 27 points in 73 games as a rookie. His $972,500 cap hit runs through 2027-28.
Shabanov, 26, went undrafted, then posted 67 points in 65 KHL games in 2024-25, spent a season with the New York Islanders and signed a one-year, $1.6 million deal with Minnesota. He is building chemistry with Kirill Kaprizov.
Gustavsson, 28, a Skellefteå, Sweden, native drafted 55th overall by Pittsburgh in 2016, came from Ottawa for Cam Talbot in 2022. He went 28-15-6 in 49 starts last season, then underwent hip surgery and sits on long-term injured reserve now. He signed a five-year, $34 million extension that began this season.
Ritchie, 20, a second-round pick in 2024 whose father, Byron, skated in 324 games in the NHL, had 17 points in 36 games at Boston University last season. Kiviharju, 20, a Danish-born Finnish defenseman, fell to 122nd overall in 2024 after an injury scared some NHL teams off, then produced 17 points in 48 games for HIFK in Finland’s Liiga.
Minnesota would send out $9.37 million in cap hits and take back Larkin’s $8.7 million through 2030-31, saving $672,500. Detroit’s books would grow by that amount, while John Gibson’s $6.4 million deal expires after 2026-27.
Dylan Larkin Fit on Minnesota Wild First Line
Larkin holds a full no-trade clause, so his approval is required. He initially named only Minnesota, Florida and Vegas, according to the Detroit Free Press, and the Wild remain on his expanded 10-team list. The destination, therefore, is not the obstacle to the deal.
On the ice, Larkin would center Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, nudging Joel Eriksson Ek, who missed most of the Colorado series, to the second line. Larkin averaged 20:11 of ice time last season, and he has scored 30 goals in five straight seasons. That is an upgrade at the position.
So who wins? Detroit takes the larger haul by far. Minnesota takes the highest scorer. The Wild have offered several packages built around multiple first-round picks, according to The Athletic‘s Pierre LeBrun, while Detroit has pushed for NHL-caliber players. This proposal supplies both.
For Detroit, that makes the deal an effective exit from the standoff. Any trade must also “support the organization’s long-term goals,” interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said in a statement. Efficiency is another question, because Gustavsson has not played this season.
Is Gustavsson an upgrade on incumbent Red Wings netminder John Gibson? Only slightly, by last season’s numbers. Gibson, 33, went 29-22-4 with a .901 save percentage to Gustavsson’s .903, and carries a save percentage below .870 this season. Gustavsson is five years younger and signed through 2030-31.
Three NHL players plus two first-rounders add up to a retool with futures attached, not a teardown. That fits what Detroit wants.
Red Wings Trade Pitch Deals Dylan Larkin for $34 Million Goalie, Much More