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MN Wild Still in on Dylan Larkin… but How?
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- MN Wild Still in on Dylan Larkin… but How?
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There was steam rising all day Friday connecting the Minnesota Wild and their top offseason trade target, Detroit Red Wings centerman, Dylan Larkin .
Larkin — who holds a full no-trade clause in his contract — requested a trade earlier this offseason and included a short list of approved destinations, one of which was Minnesota.
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The rumors started flying Friday morning when Central Division rival reporter Andy Strickland (St. Louis) suggested the Wild are the most-likely landing spot for Larkin, from what he's hearing behind the scenes.
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Hours later, local columnist LaVelle E. Neal (Star Tribune) put everyone on notice during an interview with KFAN when he said that the race is down to Vegas and Minnesota and that he's expecting something to happen this weekend.
Sounds like @LaVelleNeal has Dylan Larkin + MN Wild steam… 👀 pic.twitter.com/K1XMOJYrZC
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) June 26, 2026
Dylan Larkin waiting game continues
While LaVelle may not be the local insider you expect to be scooping Minnesota Wild news, he was clearly onto something during his KFAN Radio interview yesterday.
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Because shortly after his scoop, right before the first round of the NHL Draft started, ESPN NHL insider Emily Kaplan reported on SportsCenter that the Dylan Larkin sweepstakes are indeed down to the Golden Knights and MN Wild.
For those doubting @LaVelleNeal 's MN Wild sources — here's @emilymkaplan reporting just now on SportsCenter that the Wild and Golden Knights are indeed the teams to watch right now in Dylan Larkin trade talks, but MN will need help to get it done. pic.twitter.com/9zf3raLpoh
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) June 26, 2026
"We know that [Dylan Larkin] put in a trade request to his GM Steve Yzerman and Steve Yzerman wants to go on his own terms. So no timeline predicted here. However, Minnesota and Vegas would be the two teams I'd watch.
If Minnesota does pull off this deal, they'd have to get a third team involved, likely, because Detroit hasn't liked any of the offers so far that Minnesota has provided."
If you are looking at what Minnesota has to offer for Larkin, it remains difficult to see how they can build the type of package Steve Yzerman is hunting, given his hesitancy to make a deal so far.
Unwarranted MN Wild optimism…
Detroit's GM has made no secret that Yurov and Stramel + first rounders in 2027 and 2028is not a requisite offer. That's why, even before Friday's events, the Minnesota Wild were in need of a third team to make this trade work.
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Still, there seems to be optimism around local insider circles that the Wild are still in this fight. It's also worth noting how every insider seems to know something about this mysterious third team Billy is trying to get involved.
The Wild are still very much in the Larkin sweepstakes, with Guerin, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman and Larkin's agent, Pat Brisson, in constant communication. Larkin…was not moved on Friday's busy first day of the draft, and it's up in the air when — or if — Yzerman would move his disgruntled six-time 30-goal scorer.
It feels like, at this point, it's going to take a third team to get involved for the Wild to get a Larkin deal done since they don't have the trade assets/chips the Red Wings covet.
How patient is Yzerman really?
We know Yzerman is willing to stay patient, and he obviously isn't a fan of whatever Vegas has to offer (top prospect Trevor Connelly + 1st Rd picks in 2028 (NYR) and 2029)either, even after the flurry of moves Friday night to get back into the first round.
Related: Bill Guerin Wins Most Deflating GM of the Year Award Ever
But in the end, they did not trade the first round pick they gained last night in a deal for Larkin, who is still a member of the Red Wings, as of this morning. If Detroit was interested in any trade package from the Knights, wouldn't they have wanted last night's No. 29 overall pick included in the deal?
Steve Yzerman is holding firm when it comes to Dylan Larkin, but he still doesn't want negotiations with his "disgruntled captain" to drag on.
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🎧Spotify: https://t.co/EjfIuXbKps @TheFourthPeriod |… pic.twitter.com/TraIGkAKds— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) June 26, 2026
While Vegas may have more room to fit Larkin in their financial plans now, it's actually the Wild who have the upper draft asset hand into the future, owning five picks today, along with first round picks in both 2027 and 2028. The Golden Knights do not own a first round pick in 2027 currently.
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Could Dylan Larkin be forcing his way to Minnesota?
And that leads me to this. Has Dylan Larkin narrowed his list to one team — the Minnesota Wild. Remember, using his no-trade clause as a hammer to dictate a final destination ( like Brady Tkachuk did ) is something Russo recklessly speculated could happen earlier this week.
Larkin was also open to expanding his list to include other teams, per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. As we just learned with Tkachuk, though, the list itself only means so much. Until a player has waived to go to a team, he holds the cards on a deal being completed.
So if Larkin really wants to join forces with Olympic gold-medal teammates Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber, plus superstar Kirill Kaprizov, in Minnesota, he can be unyielding if he chooses.
While Yzerman continues to talk tough publicly about how he'll wait as long as it takes to make a good deal, it's become clear behind the scenes that he wants this deal done sooner than later, just like Billy.
Not only that, but Detroit's lack of success finding additional trade destinations has been completely swept under the table. We heard that the Stars were among several teams trying to get in on Larkin trade talks. Yet, it's still down to Vegas and Minnesota, who were two of three teams on his original list.
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Quite honesty, I'm starting to wonder if the Minnesota Wild have already found their third team to help facilitate this trade Because if Dylan Larkin was going elsewhere (including Sin City), it would already be a done deal. And it's not.
Guerin: "We didn't really have anything going on today. Tomorrow's a new day. We're trying to improve our team each and every day. This is the time of year where a lot of that stuff is done. I didn't mind not having a first-round pick this year because we have Quinn Hughes , and…
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 27, 2026
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