Where Does Dylan Larkin Fit Now? Re-Evaluating His Fit On Panthers, Golden Knights And Wild
· Yahoo Sports
In a summer filled with trades, Dylan Larkin is still with the Detroit Red Wings.
The captain requested a trade last month, but Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman told reporters last weekend there's no guarantee he will honor that request. Larkin still has five years left on his contract.
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"My job as the manager of the Detroit Red Wings is always to do what is in the best interest of the Detroit Red Wings, and I will act accordingly to that," Yzerman said.
Larkin reportedly gave a list of three teams he'd waive his no-trade clause to join. One of them is the Florida Panthers, which landed another star American forward, former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, in a trade on June 21. The Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild were the other two.
After the first day of free agency, where do the teams on his list stand today, and is there still a fit for Larkin on one of them?
Florida Panthers
The Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk in a deal that sent the ninth and 25th overall picks in last week's draft, a top-10 protected first-rounder in 2029 and a 2027 second-rounder Ottawa's way.
Florida then acquired Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils and Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights to form their new goalie tandem.
The Panthers have just under $400,000 left in cap space after bringing in Radko Gudas, Sam Lafferty and Lars Eller on July 1. While it's still possible, it isn't looking very likely that Larkin ends up in Florida.
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The Golden Knights will likely put Alex Pietrangelo's $8.8-million cap hit on the LTIR. But as it stands, the team is almost $9 million over the salary cap.
If Detroit is willing to take on Adin Hill's $6.25-million cap hit, along with another roster player, the Golden Knights have two firsts in the 2028 draft, including the one they got from the New York Rangers in the Pavel Dorofeyev trade that happened on draft night.
The Red Wings would likely need one or two centers who can lead their top two lines in return, though. If William Karlsson and Tomas Hertl are available, they're at least 32 years old and don't fit Detroit's long-term plans well.
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Of the three teams, the Wild have the most cap space at about $2.4 million. They also could use Larkin for one of their top two lines.
The issue with their cap situation is that Larkin's $8.7 million salary would eat into what could be a record-setting deal for defenseman Quinn Hughes, whose contract expires after 2026-27.
If Bill Guerin can make the money work, Minnesota has its first-round pick for the next three seasons to include as part of a deal, but unless the squad wants to part with Joel Eriksson Ek, it doesn't have intriguing centers for Detroit to acquire. The Wings could always try to use first-rounders and acquire a center from another club, but there's no guarantee that would work.
While the three teams seem unlikely to acquire Larkin for different reasons, the center will likely have to add more teams to his trade list. If he doesn't do that, Steve Yzerman and Co. would probably love to have their top center back for at least another season.
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