NHL Insider Names Frontrunner to Trade for Red Wings Star Dylan Larkin

It's been a few weeks since Dylan Larkin requested a trade, yet he remains on the Detroit Red Wings roster.

Larkin has a no-trade clause, so he has full say over where he ultimately ends up.

Detroit will surely get a bounty back in return for the six-time 30-goal scorer, but general manager Steve Yzerman doesn't seem to be in a hurry to accommodate his star's trade request.

"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. "I cannot make any guarantees, or did not make any guarantees, that that request could or would be met."

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press recently reported that Larkin has narrowed his list of potential landing spots down to three teams: the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Minnesota Wild.

Of those three, TSN's Darren Dreger seems convinced one of them should be the frontrunner to acquire the former first-round pick.

"Vegas always seems to be involved in these sorts of better player deals, I could see Dylan Larkin in Vegas," Dreger said on the "First Up" podcast.

Adding Larkin to Vegas' roster, which includes Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Tomas Hertl, Ivan Barbashev, Mark Stone, Shea Thoedore, and Noah Hanifin, would put the Golden Knights right up there with the Florida Panthers as 2027 Stanely Cup favorites.

However, the problem with Dreger's prediction is that Vegas doesn't have a first- or second-round pick in next year's draft to offer, and they have one of the worst prospect pools in the NHL.

The Golden Knights' top prospect - forward Trevor Connelly - would likely interest the Red Wings, but they'd have to include much more, like one or both of their 2028 first-round picks, to make the deal worth their while.

As NHL insider Nick Kypreos bluntly put it: “The Wild and Golden Knights don't have anything that excites Detroit.”

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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 7:45 PM.