The Minnesota Wild are reportedly the “frontrunner” to land Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, a potential league-shifting move that’s got everyone watching. Larkin’s trade request has been hanging in the air since earlier this offseason, and while Detroit still needs to get its front office sorted, this piece of “unfinished business” is now starting to take shape.
Why Larkin’s Future Is Far From Clear
According to Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff, the Wild are definitely leading the pack, but don’t expect anything to happen quickly. It’s looking “increasingly difficult to see it happening before training camp,” he writes. There are a couple of huge roadblocks, really. First off, Detroit needs a GM to even *make* a trade. You can’t just swing a deal for your captain without someone at the helm, right? That’s just wild.
The Cap Space Conundrum
The second big hurdle? Larkin has a no-trade clause, which means he’s given the Red Wings a very specific four-team list: the Wild, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, and Florida Panthers. The kicker? All four of those teams are “seriously lacking in cap space at the moment.” Yeah, you read that right. Every single one of them would have to move some “important players” out just to make room for Larkin. That no-trade clause makes negotiating a nightmare for Detroit, limiting their options to teams already in a bind. Larkin *could* expand his list, which would definitely help facilitate a deal, but he’s only added the Stars since early on, so it’s not a guarantee more teams are coming. The whole hockey world waits on this one, wondering how, or if, Detroit can navigate this cap maze. Will Larkin expand his list, or will one of these cap-strapped teams figure out a way to make the deal happen? It’s anyone’s guess, but it’s going to be big news when it finally does.
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Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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