The NHL draft has a way of loosening player movement, as general managers balance focusing on the future with improving their present.
The Detroit Red Wings traded away their 2026 first round pick at the deadline to shore up their defense, so as it stands, they won’t be making a selection when the draft holds the first round on Friday, June 26. They have picks at Nos. 47, 79, 143, 175,, 196 and 207 on June 27. Their picks at Nos. 15 and 73 went to the St. Louis Blues in the Justin Faulk trade, and the No. 111 pick was used in the John Gibson trade last summer.
If the Wings make noise this weekend, it’s likelier to be on the trade front.
It’s been three weeks since news broke that Dylan Larkin had requested a trade, though with neither side talking, it’s unclear how long general manager Steve Yzerman has known. Larkin has a no-trade clause, so he holds power over where he lands, and his initial list of destinations focused on the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights. The Wings asked him to expand the list, and there’s also no rules prohibiting any of Yzerman’s colleagues calling and pitching a trade.
The NHL draft always has its share of trade news as minor as teams swapping picks − or bigger news, like in 2022, when the Wings acquired goaltender Ville Husso in a sign-and-trade with the Blues on the first day of that draft. When the draft was in a central location, there was always buzz when GMs were seen talking to one another on the draft floor.
That’s changed now that the draft is decentralized − for the second straight year, team executives and scouts will operate from their home cities, a move pushed for by teams to reduce cost and provide a quieter environment than the cacophony of the draft floor. Mobile phones, of course, are never far from a GM’s person.
One of the reason the draft spurs trades is the proximity to free agency, which begins July 1. This year projects to be an especially thin market, reflecting a growing trend for GMs to re-sign top players as a 32-team league has watered down the talent pool.
Larkin is an attractive asset. He turns 30 on July 30, so he’s right in the prime of his career, and he has five years left on a contract that carries a very reasonable − especially in light of the cap increasing to $104 million next season − annual average value of $8.7 million. (It’s even better in actual salary, as the deal was front-loaded: The actual total salary is $38.6 million, an average of $7.72 million). Larkin has reached the 30-goal plateau five straight seasons and six times in his career.
All those things, of course, also make Larkin an attractive asset for the Wings to keep. Yzerman is not obligated to fulfill Larkin’s wish, and a trade is tricky from the standpoint that the Wings really need to get back what they are giving up: a top-line center. They are thin down the middle, with Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, Marco Kasper and Michael Rasmussen on the depth chart. They already were looking to upgrade the second-line center spot before Larkin upended the scene. The Wings need value-now players in a trade, be it directly with one team or via a multi-team swap.
This is the time of year teams shape rosters for the coming season, and knowing whether Larkin fits into those plans will impact what else teams do. That could help settle the Larkin situation, or at the very least help clarify how realistic a trade is.
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings lack 1st-round pick but could see Dylan Larkin trade
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
