- Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin lists the Minnesota Wild as the frontrunner to land Dylan Larkin
- A trade before training camp looks unlikely with Detroit still without a general manager
- Read below for why Larkin’s four-team list keeps stalling a deal
The Minnesota Wild are still the team to beat for Dylan Larkin. Actually finishing the trade is the hard part.
Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin ran through the offseason’s biggest unresolved storylines this week, and the Red Wings captain’s trade request landed at the top of the list. His read is that Minnesota remains the frontrunner, even if the timeline keeps slipping.
Matt Larkin explained why a deal before camp is getting tough to picture:
“Still, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see it happening before training camp. For one, Detroit, uh, needs a GM in place to make the trade. Secondly: Larkin’s three-team list, which expanded to four with the Stars, consists of four teams who are seriously lacking in cap space at the moment, meaning they’d have to move some important players out to make a deal work. The Wild still seem like the frontrunner.”
Detroit’s front office is the first holdup. Steve Yzerman stepped down as the Red Wings GM last week and slid into a senior advisor role, which leaves the club without anyone in the chair to sign off on a franchise trade.
That same insider crew broke down where the Wings go from here on the latest Daily Faceoff rundown:
Larkin’s guest list is the other problem. He signed an eight-year, $69.6 million extension in 2023 with a full no-trade clause, so he decides where he lands. His approved teams, the Wild, Golden Knights, Panthers and Stars, are all pressed against the cap and would have to shed salary to fit an $8.7 million center.
For Minnesota, the fit is obvious. Larkin is a Michigan kid who scores 30 goals a year and would give the Wild the No. 1 center they have chased for years. Getting Detroit to say yes without a general manager in place is the part nobody can rush.
Until the Red Wings hire someone to run the deal, Larkin stays in Detroit and Minnesota keeps waiting.
