Three-time All-Star, 12-year veteran center Dylan Larkin made his initial trade request to the Detroit Red Wings nearly five months ago now, and he’s still in Detroit — on suspension and not being paid. But a new trade pitch published Saturday and aimed at the Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights would end the drama by replacing Larkin with a two-time All-Star, 14-year veteran center.
Under the terms outlined in the trade pitch, published by the roster-construction site PuckGM, Larkin heads to VGK in a proposed deal that sends Tomas Hertl plus four more assets to the Red Wings.
Larkin has been suspended without pay since Oct. 29, and his full no-trade clause gives him control over every destination Detroit can pursue. Reportedly, he refuses to budge on his list of 10 acceptable destinations.
The proposal on PuckPedia’s PuckGM simulator would send Larkin to Vegas for Hertl, forward Braeden Bowman, defenseman Juho Piiparinen, winger Trevor Connelly and a 2028 first-round pick. The cap hits nearly offset, adding about $63,000 to Vegas’ payroll.
Dylan Larkin’s Fit With the Vegas Golden Knights
Larkin, 30, is a Waterford, Michigan, native. Detroit drafted him 15th overall in 2014, and he played one season at the University of Michigan before turning pro. He was named the franchise’s 37th captain in 2021. Detroit stripped him of the captaincy in September after the trade demand, and his $8.7 million cap hit runs through 2030-31. He posted 67 points in 74 games last season.
Would Larkin approve this deal? Yes, it appears he would. Vegas was included on his original three-team list and remains on the expanded 10-team list, according to TSN.
Hertl, 32, scored 24 goals and 58 points in 82 games last season. Larkin brings more production in fewer games, and he is nearly three years younger. But Vegas also surrenders depth, and the club already leans on Bowman and Alex Holtz for supplemental scoring after Pavel Dorofeyev’s exit. Hertl is a two-time All-Star.
Jack Eichel anchors the first line with Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone on his wings, so Larkin would likely center the second line in Vegas. He and Eichel were teammates on the U.S. team that won Olympic gold in February.
“Somebody you root for,” Eichel said of Larkin, as quoted by ClutchPoints.
What the Detroit Red Wings Receive for Dylan Larkin
Hertl is a 6-foot-3 center and a Prague native drafted 17th overall in 2012. San Jose traded him to Vegas in March 2024 and retained 17% of his contract, leaving a $6.75 million cap hit. He has seven goals in 18 games this season, giving Detroit a proven second-line center to replace its former captain.
Bowman, 23, a Kitchener, Ontario, native, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and scored 26 points in 54 games as a rookie. A six-year, $20.4 million extension begins in 2027-28 at $3.4 million a year.
Piiparinen, 18, is a 6-foot-3 defenseman from Lahti, Finland. Vegas took him 29th overall in June and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in July.
Connelly, 20, from Tustin, California, went 19th overall in 2024 after 125 points in 109 games with Tri-City in the USHL. He scored in his NHL debut on opening night.
Detroit has insisted on NHL-ready talent rather than picks and prospects. This package delivers Hertl, Bowman and Connelly at the NHL level, plus a first-round defenseman and a 2028 first-rounder. That pick is a conditional selection Vegas acquired from the New York Rangers in the Dorofeyev trade, and PuckGM data shows Detroit holding about $22.7 million in cap space afterward.
Vegas gets the better player at nearly the same cost, so the edge on the ice goes to the Golden Knights. Detroit receives the larger return and keeps its flexibility, so the edge in assets goes to the Red Wings. Detroit would absorb Bowman’s $3.4 million starting in 2027-28, while Hertl’s $6.75 million replaces Larkin’s $8.7 million now. One transaction would end the standoff without a rebuild.
“In the best interests of the Detroit Red Wings” is the standard for any Larkin trade, interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said, according to Click On Detroit. Whether a return built on Hertl meets that bar would be Detroit’s question to answer under the new trade pitch.
Red Wings Trade Pitch Replaces Dylan Larkin With 2-Time All-Star Vegas Center