Red Wings Reportedly Involved in Ongoing Dylan Larkin Trade Talks

Updates regarding the status of Dylan Larkin's trade request away from the Detroit Red Wings have recently come to light.

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Per recent reports, the Detroit Red Wings are actively in discussion with a number of teams regarding Dylan Larkin's trade request.

Larkin — the Red Wings' captain — requested a trade from Detroit in early June but has five years remaining on his eight-year, $69.9 million contract with an $8.7 AAV.

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press has since indicated that the Red Wings have talked with the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars regarding Larkin's trade request — with it also being noted that Detroit will need a first-line center in return, but apparently Larkin's selected teams are not willing to part with their own players who fit that mold.

REPORT: The Red Wings have had discussions with the Panthers, Wild, Golden Knights, and Stars regarding Dylan Larkin’s trade request, per @HeleneStJames

(h/t @NHLRumourReport) pic.twitter.com/0EbfCkrL75

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) August 8, 2026

Minnesota beat reporter Michael Russo has also reported that the Wild have pursued Larkin, and still have hopes to acquire the 30-year-old center once Detroit brings aboard a new General Manager.

Former Detroit GM Steve Yzerman is transitioning from his role as Executive Vice President and General Manager to a senior advisor, with Assistant GM Shawn Horcoff currently handling day-to-day responsibilities — aside from an exception of making trades.

An outside search firm has been hired by Detroit to better their efforts in finding the next Red Wings' GM, which will likely be a candidate with a heavy background in analytics.

Dylan Larkin Trade Talks Ongoing for Detroit

Yzerman did previously say in late June at the 2026 NHL Draft that Larkin's trade request simply might not be met.

“My job as the manager of the Detroit Red Wings is always to do what is in the best interest of the Detroit Red Wings, and I will act accordingly to that,” Yzerman had said. “I cannot make any guarantees, or did not make any guarantees, that that request could or would be met.”

Larkin's agent is Pat Brisson with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Larkin grew up in the Detroit area and has played his entire hockey career in the state of Michigan as a native of the state in Waterford, Mich. The Red Wings originally selected Larkin at No. 15 overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Larkin's request comes after he helped Team USA to win gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics back in Feb., and he currently has 643 points (276 goals, 367 assists) in 808 games for Detroit.

NHL.com previously noted that there appeared to be tension between Larkin and Yzerman after the 2024-25 season due to how the Red Wings handled the NHL Trade Deadline; Detroit's most significant move was acquiring goalie Petr Mrazek and center Craig Smith from the Chicago Blackhawks for center Joe Veleno.

“Guys were kind of down about it,” Larkin previously said of the NHL Trade Deadline. “It’d be nice to add something and bring a little bit of spark on the ice, and maybe a morale boost as well.”

Regardless of where the rest of his on-ice career takes him, Larkin has made history for the Red Wings. Larkin opened the 2025-26 season by posting 11 points in six games to become the third player in Red Wings history with multiple season-opening point streaks of at least six games.

He also became the fifth-youngest player in Detroit history to lead the Red Wings in scoring with 63 points in 2017-18, when he was just 22, and became the ninth player in franchise history with four consecutive 30-goal seasons in 2024-25.