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MN Wild Need Help Getting Dylan Larkin Trade Over Finish Line
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- MN Wild Need Help Getting Dylan Larkin Trade Over Finish Line
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The Minnesota Wild made their first move of the offseason this week, when they agreed to a six-year, $20 million contract with depth centerman Michael McCarron , who they acquired at the 2026 trade deadline for a second round draft pick.
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There are still a bundle of pending free agents who need a deal or are set to hit the open market on July 1, including Mats Zuccarello , Vladimir Tarasenko and Nick Foligno , among others. Marcus Johansson is no longer available, after he signed with his hometown team in Sweden to finish out his professional career.
How president of hockey operations Bill Guerin chooses to proceed with the Wild's own free agents remains to be seen. Those storylines, however, have taken a backseat this past week as everyone watches the Dylan Larkin trade situation .
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The Detroit Red Wings Captain wants out, and the Minnesota Wild are very much interested in acquiring the 29-year-old star center, but not if it means giving up a key top line player like Joel Eriksson Ek or Jonas Brodin .
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Red Wings adding additional teams to Dylan Larkin trade list?
That poses a problem, because Guerin isn't willing to part with Jesper Wallstedt either, meaning any package going to Detroit for Larkin likely centers around Danila Yurov , Charlie Stramel and future picks — which Wings GM Steve Yzerman doesn't appear all that interested in .
In fact, according to Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic) , Detroit has already gone back to Larkin for additional teams he'd be interested in playing for, meaning this is no longer a sweepstakes involving only the Wild, Golden Knights and Panthers.
Yzerman went back to Brisson and asked to expand their original list of three teams, and my sense is that Brisson was receptive to that to some degree. So I don't think we're just dealing with the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers anymore.
So, what are the MN Wild to do? Well, they could wait this out and hope the Red Wings bring their price down or that another top-six forward comes available, either via trade or free agency.
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That's a risky proposition, however, since there's no guarantee Guerin will get another opportunity like this one, given how perfect of a fit Dylan Larkin would be and how affordable his contract is, at $8.7 million per year .
MN Wild trying to involve a third team in Dylan Larkin trade talks
But there is another avenue that Billy may be attempting to travel — involving a third team that might be interested in facilitating a trade to land Dylan Larkin in Minnesota, that somehow helps benefit them, with money, flexibility and/or talent.
…in a potential scenario that might help thread the needle, a [Larkin] trade could involve a third team in a transaction to make the assets work for Detroit. That would especially apply to a team like the Wild, who, straight up, I don't think have the parts to appease Detroit in a Larkin trade — or at least the parts that the Red Wings would want. Finding a way to get assets from a third team might be a viable scenario.
How eager are the Minnesota Wild to close out the Dylan Larkin sweepstakes as the winner, just like they did with Quinn Hughes and Vancouver ? That could be the key to projecting how this ends. If he wasn't desperate enough, the stakes just got a bit bigger, after the Stars reportedly jumped into the mix.
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Related: Minnesota Wild Lose Draft Guru to Toronto
According to LeBrun , the Stars are one additional team that seems to have entered the fray, and could even close the deal if they offer star defenseman, Jason Robertson , who's not yet on the table but could be if he and the Stars cannot come to terms on a contract extension.
the Dallas Stars have absolutely checked in. They haven't extended restricted free agent Jason Robertson yet, although those contract discussions continue. Food for thought if an extension doesn't get done in due time.
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