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Dylan Larkin’s Trade List Has Three Real Contenders
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- Dylan Larkin’s Trade List Has Three Real Contenders
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin is still playing for the team he asked to leave, and his trade list only got longer this month. In 10 games this season he has two goals and four assists with a plus-3 rating, and Detroit is 5-4-3 with 13 points.
The list of places he will go is no longer short. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported this month that Larkin has expanded his approved trade list to 10 teams: the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals, per Daily Faceoff . Florida, Minnesota and Vegas were the original three when he requested a trade in June.
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Three of those 10 teams sit in first place in their division as of Oct. 28. Sorted by points, this is how Larkin's own list stacks up for him.
Oct 26, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Detroit Red Wings celebrate a goal scored by Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin (71) during the third period against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)
Carolina Has the Most Points on Dylan Larkin's Trade List
Carolina is 10-2-2 with 22 points , first in the Metropolitan Division and first in the league. The Hurricanes also have the one thing a trade needs, which is a reason. Captain Jordan Staal, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy on the way to Carolina's Stanley Cup title in June , tore a calf muscle in warmups this month and is expected to miss one to two months . A defending champion that is short a center down the middle is the cleanest fit on the whole list.
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The Wild Give Larkin Familiar Faces and an Open Window
Minnesota is 9-3-2 with 20 points , first in the Central Division. This could be the year general manager Bill Guerin swings for the fences and pushes everything to the middle of the table for a Stanley Cup run. Larkin would not be walking into a room full of strangers, either. He and Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes were both named to the United States roster for the Milan Cortina Olympics, and slotting Larkin behind Kirill Kaprizov would give Minnesota a look through the middle it has not had.
Vegas Is Another First-Place Fit, With One Catch
Vegas is 9-4-1 with 19 points , first in the Pacific Division, and Jack Eichel was on that same United States Olympic roster with Larkin. The Golden Knights lost the Final to Carolina in six games in June and still look built for another long spring, so the hockey case is easy.
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The catch is the part Larkin does not control. A trade only happens if Detroit likes what comes back, and that is a question about what Vegas still has to offer rather than about Larkin's fit there. On his own list, Carolina and Minnesota are the two that can answer it fastest.
