Top Landing Spots for Dylan Larkin After Red Wings Trade Request
The NHL offseason just got a lot more interesting.
The list of potential immediate impact free agents this year is small - headlined by Patrik Laine, Jacob Trouba, Anders Lee, and Alex Tuch - and the players rumored to be on the trade block - Nico Hischier, Jason Robertson, Darnell Nurse, Jordan Kyrou, Morgan Reilly, Simon Nemec - might be awfully difficult to pry away from their respective teams.
But a new name is expected to be available this summer after Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin officially requested a trade on Thursday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
"According to multiple sources, Dylan Larkin recently requested a trade from Detroit," Friedman reported. "… Larkin's involvement in the trade market is massive. He has a full no-trade clause both this season and next, so his control over the situation does not change July 1.
"He's a top-line center in a league desperate for centers, so there's going to be a ton of interest. His play at the 4 Nations and Olympics was stellar. That's going to excite potential trade partners.
Friedman believes Larkin wants out of Detroit for two reasons: Detroit has only made the playoffs once in his 11 seasons, and the known tension between Larkin and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.
Any deal for Larkin, a six-time 30-goal and seven-time 60-point player, is going to be expensive. Factoring in that the Red Wings don't have a pick in the first or fourth rounds this year, or the second round next year, the draft capital needed to pry Larkin from Detroit will be substantial.
Below are three teams that could make an aggressive push for Larkin now that he wants out of Detroit.
Boston Bruins
When looking at the Bruins' biggest needs, a top-line center is right at the top of the list.
No offense to Morgan Geekie or Pavel Zacha, who are both fine players in their own right, but neither are on Larkin's level. The 29-year-old Red Wings captain has hit the 30-goal mark in each of the last five seasons, and he hasn't been below 67 points since the COVID-shortened 56-game 2020 season.
Larkin is also under contract for five more seasons, so if the Bruins pay the massive price to acquire him, they'll have their first-line center in tow for the long haul.
Los Angeles Kings
The King have giant shoes to fill following the retirement of captain and franchise cornerstone Anze Kopitar.
Though they didn't make it far in the postseason, the Kings do have a playoff-caliber roster, and adding a player like Larkin to the mix could be just what they need to get out of the first round - something they haven't accomplished since they won the Stanley Cup back in 2014.
No Kings center had more than 12 goals or 38 points this season (both Kopitar). In fact, the rest of the centers on the roster scored a combined 13 goals and 36 points. Arguably no team in the NHL needs centers more than L.A. and Larkin would give them one of the best top-liners in the league.
Philadelphia Flyers
Few would argue that Trevor Zegras is an electrifying player, but the Flyers used him more on the wing before transitioning him to more of a hybrid role later in the year.
Christian Dvorak and Sean Coutourier are both solid centermen, but they too are not in the same league as Larkin is.
Larkin would slot in immediately as Philadelphia's top-line center, and he could instantly elevate any of the team's top wingers - Zegras (26 goals, 67 points), Travis Konecny (27 goals, 68 points), Owen Tippett (28 goals, 51 points), Matvei Michkov (20 goals, 51 points) - into more dangerous scoring threats.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 4:48 PM.