Dylan Larkin, much like his Team USA teammate Brady Tkachuk, seems to have handpicked his trade destination of choice.
Larkin, the captain of the Detroit Red Wings, officially requested a trade from the club earlier this month after a tenth straight season of missing the playoffs. Now, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kyrpeos, Larkin’s preferred landing spot is with the Dallas Stars, a team not initially on his three-team trade list.
“Frustration and lack of playoff games finally got Larkin to a point where he requested a trade from Detroit with multiple years left on his contract and a full no-trade clause,” Kypreos wrote Monday. “While Larkin will have some control over his next destination because of that clause, GM Steve Yzerman also has control on if Larkin gets traded at all.
“There is a strong push for Larkin to expand his list of teams he’s willing to go to. Yzerman will not move him if he feels he’s getting squeezed. Look for Yzerman’s former assistant general manager, Pat Verbeek, to try and get in on this. However, it appears Larkin’s destination of choice is Dallas.”
The 29-year-old center originally had just the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild on his list, but was receptive to the Red Wings’ request to extend it and add other teams such as the Stars. He still has five years remaining on the eight-year, $69.6 million contract ($8.7 million AAV) that he signed with Detroit during the 2022-23 campaign.
Larkin recorded 67 points (34g, 33a) in 74 games this past season, marking his fifth straight year scoring at least 30 goals. The Michigan native has only played in five career playoff games, all of which came at the end of his rookie 2015-16 season. He will not come cheap in any trade as he will be one of the biggest available prizes of the offseason, as the NHL’s free agency market is set to be very shallow.
The Stars are currently battling their own tough roster decision with star winger Jason Robertson as they weigh playing hardball with him in contract negotiations versus trading him before they lose him to a potential offer sheet. Robertson, recently named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team, could be seeking upwards of $14 million a year against the salary cap, and Stars general manager Jim Nill reportedly has a salary red line of $12 million.
If the Stars decide to trade Robertson, they could do so in a deal that would land Larkin in Dallas. Hockey insider Pierre LeBrun has previously mused that the Red Wings may try to get a third team involved in any trade so that the assets they receive back from Larkin better fit their current team standing.
