Months have passed since Dylan Larkin asked for a trade out of the Detroit Red Wings, yet he remains in Motor City. Reports around the NHL now suggest Larkin has lost interest from two teams he asked to join, leaving the Minnesota Wild as the most likely landing spot. However, the Wild face several hurdles of their own.
Just as the Red Wings face a major problem because of their high asking price for Larkin, the Wild lack the assets that would make Detroit interested in sending its captain to Minneapolis. Minnesota has seemingly accepted its fate.
Perhaps the only way the Wild could trade for Larkin is if another organization chimes in and lends them a hand. Indeed, the only way for Larkin to head to the Land of 10,000 Lakes may be through a three-way trade.
“The problem is the Wild’s assets are what they are,” Michael Russo reported on The Sheet podcast. “They aren’t going to suddenly magically give up [Matt] Boldy in a Dylan Larkin trade. So unless [the Red Wings] are going to want futures that aren’t sure things, I don’t know how that deal is going to get done. Unless it’s a three-way trade.“
Quinn Hughes #43 of the Minnesota Wild.
Wild need to convince Detroit, not Larkin
Dealing with a player signed through the 2030-31 NHL season and under a full NMC, the Wild know they must sell their pitch to the Red Wings, not Larkin. In fact, the center needs no further convincing. Larkin wants to move to Minnesota, and he’s made that clear.
However, as much leverage as he currently has, he can’t automatically trade himself to the Wild. He needs the Red Wings to accept an offer so he can waive his clause. That’s where things get tricky. Detroit wants NHL-ready talent in return for Larkin, and Minnesota can’t afford to lose key pieces of its puzzle.
At the end of the day, the Wild are eyeing their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and giving up too much for Larkin could result in them taking steps backward rather than forward. The most realistic scenario, as things currently stand, appears to be a three-team trade. Still, help would come at a cost for Minnesota, and all eyes across the NHL are fixed on Quinn Hughes.
Speak of the Devils
Anything can happen in the NHL, and the conclusion may not be the most logical. If it were, however, the New Jersey Devils would make a lot of sense. Perhaps they could help out the Wild by providing the assets the Red Wings are after in exchange for Quinn Hughes. It would definitely be an eye for an eye, and then some.
Still, it could happen, especially if the trade for Larkin ends up being delayed until the trade deadline, or if Hughes tells Minnesota he doesn’t plan on re-signing before, during, or after the 2026-27 NHL season.
Faced with the prospect of losing Hughes to free agency in the summer of 2027, the Wild may pull off a wild move. Such desperation may lead the team in Twin Cities to make a pact with the Devils. Make no mistake, the team in Detroit may have wings, but they are no angels, either. Minnesota should keep that in mind when negotiating in the near future. Every organization in the NHL only looks after itself, and no one is a philanthropist.
