A new trade proposal envisions Dylan Larkin leaving the Detroit Red Wings for the Montreal Canadiens, pairing the veteran center with Nick Suzuki’s rising young core.
The scenario, drawn up by a user using PuckPedia‘s trade-building tool PuckGM, surfaces as Larkin’s real trade request continues to hang over Detroit’s offseason, leaving open exactly where the longtime captain will actually land.
Dylan Larkin’s Real Standoff With Detroit
Larkin, drafted 15th overall out of Michigan in 2014, has spent his entire career with the Red Wings. He has strung together four straight 30-goal seasons and made it five in 2025-26, finishing with 34 goals and 67 points in 74 games, pushing his career totals to 276 goals and 643 points across 808 games.
Detroit stripped Larkin, a three-time All-Star Game selection, of the captaincy in 2026 after he requested a trade, ending a run that began when he first wore the “C” in 2021, according to an item on the Red Wings’ official site. Larkin signed an eight-year, $69.6 million extension in March 2023 that carries an $8.7 million cap hit through 2030-31, according to contract terms tracked by PuckPedia.
That deal includes a full no-trade clause through 2026-27, meaning Larkin ultimately controls his destination. Public reporting has linked him to the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights as clubs he would accept — not Montreal — according to an analysis from Bleacher Report.
What Montreal Would Give Up In The Proposal
In the simulated swap, Detroit would land center Kirby Dach, center Oliver Kapanen, goaltender Samuel Montembeault, the signing rights to KHL prospect Alexander Zharovsky and Montreal’s 2027 first-round pick. Kapanen broke out in 2025-26, scoring 22 goals and posting 37 points in 82 games as a 22-year-old.
Dach is a size-amd-skillskill reclamation project on a one-year prove-it deal. Kapanen is the best hockey piece coming back—already an NHL 22-goal scorer on an ELC. Montembeault gives them a cheap NHL starter behind Gibson. Zharovsky is still a lottery-ticket.
Dach is playing on a one-year, $3.6 million show-me contract after re-signing with Montreal in July, according to a report by Pro Hockey Rumors.
Montembeault followed a strong 2024-25 season with a rough 2025-26, posting a 3.43 goals-against average and an .872 save percentage over 25 appearances, according to numbers compiled by Hockey-Reference.
Zharovsky, a 2025 second-round pick, was named a KHL All-Star and won the league’s top rookie award after setting a KHL under-19 scoring record with 42 points, according to his Elite Prospects scouting report.
Financially, the swap would push Montreal’s projected 2026-27 cap hit to roughly $100.8 million, leaving just over $3.1 million in space with zero room in long-term injured reserve and only 20 of 23 roster spots filled, according to figures generated by PuckPedia. Detroit would add another first-round pick while barely touching the roughly $19.6 million in cap space it already projects to carry into next season, according to tracking from Spotrac.
None of it matters unless Larkin adds Montreal to his approved list. The no-trade clause, not the cap sheet, remains the real obstacle standing between Detroit’s rebuild and any actual version of this trade.
Until that changes, exercises like this one remain useful mainly as a snapshot of what Detroit’s return could look like if a real deal eventually materializes.
Canadiens Trade Pitch Lands 3-Time All-Star Dylan Larkin in Kirby Dach Deal