Minnesota stands as perhaps the last realistic trade partner for Red Wings’ three-time All-Star center Dylan Larkin, and a new roster simulation shows exactly what landing him might cost the Wild.
The Red Wings want proven value coming back for their captain of nearly six years, not merely untested prospects, and that price tag is precisely why the deal remains a talking point only. For now.
Larkin requested a trade out of Detroit in June, and he listed the Wild among three teams he’d waive his no-trade clause for, along with the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Jackie Spiegel.
Larkin’s Trade Request Reaches the Minnesota Wild
Larkin, a Waterford, Michigan, native, was Detroit’s 15th overall pick in 2014, spent one season at Michigan and has never worn another NHL sweater. He’s tallied 276 goals and 643 points across 808 career games, with six 30-goal seasons and an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in February.
His cap hit is $8.7 million through 2030-31 on an eight-year, $69.6 million deal, with a no-trade clause that runs through 2028, according to PuckPedia.
That number looks like a bargain for a true No. 1, 6-foot-1 left-shot center and Olympic gold medalist. Frustration had been building in Detroit for a while before the request went public.
“It’d be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice,” Larkin said of last year’s quiet trade deadline, as quoted by Spiegel.
Three months later, Florida and Vegas have fallen away, leaving Minnesota as the primary club still standing. But the names on the table so far haven’t been enough.
“Danila Yurov and Charlie Stramel, at least so far, haven’t moved the needle in a potential trade for Dylan Larkin,” The Athletic‘s Michael Russo wrote.
What a Detroit Red Wings Return Package Would Look Like
A trade proposal assembled using PuckPedia‘s PuckGM roster construction tool sketches a heavy price. Forwards Ryan Hartman, a 12-year veteran and 2013 first-round draft pick, plus forward Yakov Trenin, prospect center Charlie Stramel, and first-round picks from Vegas in 2027 and Colorado in 2028. Neither of those firsts belongs to Minnesota outright, meaning the picks would have to come from other clubs’ assets that the Wild control.
Stramel, Minnesota’s 21st overall pick in 2023 and a Rosemount, Minnesota, native, signed his three-year entry-level deal in April after a 44-point season at Michigan State that made him a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
Hartman and Trenin are both established NHL forwards already logging middle-six minutes, the type of value-now complementary pieces Detroit General Manager Steve Yzerman has reportedly sought in return. Moving both, plus Stramel and two firsts, would leave Minnesota thin down the middle but would finally hand Kirill Kaprizov a true No. 1 center, sliding Joel Eriksson Ek into a second-line role.
Cap-wise, the swap is close to neutral. Larkin’s $8.7 million against Hartman’s $4 million, Trenin’s $3.5 million and Stramel’s $1.075 million nets out to roughly a wash this season, with Detroit’s books opening up once Hartman’s deal expires in 2027.
Minnesota, meanwhile, is working with almost no breathing room, sitting on roughly $1.15 million in projected 2026-27 cap space, so any Larkin addition likely requires shedding other salary beyond what comes back in this package.
Wild Trade Pitch Sacrifices 2 First-Round Picks, Ryan Hartman For Dylan Larkin