The Florida Panthers just upped their contender status for next season, and that could have a domino affect on the Detroit Red Wings’ forecast for trading Dylan Larkin.
In a blockbuster trade Sunday, June 21, with no advance whispers, the Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk, brother of Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, from the Ottawa Senators for three first-round picks (the No. 9 and No. 25 pick in the 2026 draft, a condition first-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2027 draft).
It’s a trade that makes sense for both sides: The Panthers gain a power forward who was part of the U.S. gold-medal winning team at the 2026 Milano Olympics, and the Senators gained assets for a rebuild.
A similar trade would not work for the Wings, however.
The Wings need value now returns if general manager Steve Yzerman acquiesces to Larkin’s trade demands. Trading Larkin would leave the Wings very thin down the middle, with Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, Marco Kasper and Michael Rasmussen next on the depth chart.
Larkin is a valuable asset: A center in the prime of his career (turns 30 on July 30) with a consistent history of scoring 30 goals, and who has five years left on a deal carrying a very reasonable $8.7 million salary cap hit. And, thanks to the deal being front-loaded, the Wings already have paid the lion’s share, with actual salary remaining topping out at five years with an actual total monetary cost of $38.6 million, an average actual salary of $7.72 million.
That’s why it remains a possibility Yzerman does not trade Larkin. He has a no-trade clause, and his initial list of destinations focused on the Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights. The Wings asked him to expand on that, and also are free to listen to pitches from any GM. Maybe a multi-team trade enables a solution.
In the meantine, the Panthers just served notice to the other 31 teams that they are all in on competing for the 2027 Stanley Cup. The Panthers missed the playoffs in 2026, but that was because top center and captain Aleksander Barkov missed the entire season, along with an injuries to multiple other key personnel, including Matthew Tkachuk.
The Panthers, winners of both the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup, have to sort out their situation in goal as Sergei Bobrovsky, Daniil Tarasov and Louis Domingue are all pending unrestricted free agents, but when it comes to skaters, the Panthers are among the strongest teams in the NHL.
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: How Brady Tkachuk trade affects Detroit Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
