Assessing trade destinations for disgruntled Red Wings center Dylan Larkin

In theory, the Wings should no longer be rebuilding. Larkin made the playoffs with Detroit as a rookie in 2015-16. The Wings haven't made the postseason since then and began a rebuild shortly thereafter, mostly guided by Hall of Famer and Wings legend Steve Yzerman. The Detroit legend took over the Wings front office in April 2019. 

Larkin has blossomed into a near point-per-game player, scoring 354 points in 375 games over the last five seasons. It earned him a spot on the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team. 

Detroit suffered two collapses in the past three seasons. Larkin, for his part, suffered an injury just hours after the trade deadline. Detroit went 3-3-1 without him in the lineup. Likely not fully healthy, the collapse only hastened with his return to the lineup. The Wings were just 6-10-3 after the trade deadline.

Where will Dylan Larkin land?

Friedman believes this will be a complicated negotiation — noting Larkin's trade protection and Yzerman's history in trade negotiations.

Larkin has five years remaining on a contract with an average annual value of $8.7 million. In a rising salary-cap environment, that likely makes the 29-year-old a valuable commodity as one of the few available top-six centers. 

There are two buckets that make the most sense for Larkin — teams that came up short in the playoffs and teams on the outside that are desperate to get back on the inside. 

Larkin's expectations likely revolve around being a playoff team. The Utah Mammoth, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres would all likely be teams that would make a hard push for Larkin. Yzerman may be reluctant to move Larkin inside the Atlantic Division, which could rule Montreal, Boston and Buffalo out. 

Elsewhere, the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues are teams that need center help, and both have veteran center trade chips who could be used to potentially shake Larkin free from Detroit's grip. New York also features multiple Team USA connections — head coach Mike Sullivan, Olympic teammates J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck and 4 Nations Face-off teammate Adam Fox. 

The question is whether either of those teams could convince Larkin that they're a Dylan Larkin away from returning to the postseason. 

The Stanley Cup Final impact

The Stanley Cup Final could actually have a major impact on this deal. Both the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights could be potential Larkin destinations, particularly for whichever team loses the series.

The Hurricanes have greater overall flexibility, though they are a little tighter to the salary cap this summer than they will be in the summer of 2027. 

Any attempts by Vegas would be complicated, but the Knights have proved they're never out of any negotiation. Still, any attempt to acquire Larkin would require a major piece going out. The Knights have the second-least cap space heading into the summer behind only Colorado. Plus, they have major contract negotiations coming with restricted free-agent winger Pavel Dorofeyev and unrestricted free-agent defenseman Rasmus Andersson. 

NHL free agency begins July 1.