Dylan Larkin’s trade request from the Detroit Red Wings puts general manager Steve Yzerman in a tough spot. With the captain having a no-trade clause in his contract, he can essentially choose where he wants to go, which doesn’t give the GM a ton of leverage. However, Larkin reportedly submitted the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild to Yzerman as teams he’d waive the clause for, according to Helene St. James via the Detroit Free Press.
Larkin giving Yzerman a collection of teams does give him a bit of leverage over the entire situation. It is the complete opposite of what happened with the Artemi Panarin trade talks this past season, as he forced Chris Drury’s hand to make the deal with the Los Angeles Kings, which made the return subpar by some people’s standards. With Larkin picking the three teams that are the most aggressive in making moves, Yzerman should be able to maximize his return.
No one in the league wants to get in a bidding war against Kelly McCrimmon, Bill Zito, or Bill Guerin, and now all three general managers could be seated around the same negotiating table. It might seem unlikely that any of the organizations would have enough assets to put together a package for Larkin, but we all know by now that neither is afraid to go big to make a deal.
Are the Wild, Panthers, or Golden Knights a good fit for Dylan Larkin?
Larkin is the type of center that is best in a complementary role. The Wild would need him to be their top center, but he would have players like Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov to take some of his responsibility off. The Golden Knights have Jack Eichel playing in front of them and are already an established team, while the Panthers are going to be right back to being contenders next season with Aleksander Barkov healthy and on the first line.
All three teams are great fits for a second-line Larkin, and all have obvious ties to the greatest achievement of the American-born center’s hockey life. The Wild feature Guerin, Team USA’s general manager at the Olympics, along with teammates like Hughes, Brock Faber, and Matt Boldy. The Panthers have Matthew Tkachuk, who is going to vouch for adding Larkin, while the Golden Knights have Jack Eichel.
It’s clear that Larkin wants to chase the elusive Stanley Cup as he enters his 30s and feels like these teams give him a better chance than the Red Wings.
Next: Canadiens Called About Dylan Larkin Trade, Are They Willing to Pay The Price?
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