George Richards, FHN Publisher
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin apparently wants out, but that does not mean the Florida Panthers have enough to pull off a trade for the talented center.
The NHL rumor mill cranked up to the high 90s on Thursday when Elliotte Friedman reported that Larkin has informed the Wings that he wants to be traded.
Although there is little doubt that Larkin would look good in the Panthers’ shade of red, it would certainly be hard to pull off.
Of course, Bill Zito has connected on big swings in the past.
Larkin, who turns 30 later this summer, is entering the fourth year of an eight-year, $69.6 million contract.
He does hold a no-trade clause which can make things a little sticky for the Red Wings — or help grease the gears on a trade to a preferred destination.
We have seen players in the past (Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, Vladimir Tarasenko, Claude Giroux) tell their teams they would only accept a trade to a place such as Florida giving the Panthers an opportunity to bid on a highly sought after player without really matching offers by rival teams.
Larkin was a teammate of Tkachuk’s on the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team, but there has been no indication he wants to play for the Panthers.
But, for this exercise, let’s just assume Larkin wants to come to the Panthers — and only the Panthers.
The cost of acquiring a player of this magnitude — Larkin scored a career-high 34 goals for the Wings this past season and averages about 70 points a year — would be huge.
After holding on to its 2026 first-round draft pick that had previously been sent to Chicago, Florida has committed their next two picks (2027 and 2028) to the Blackhawks and Bruins respectively.
If a Larkin deal with Florida happens before the draft, the Panthers could send the ninth overall pick.
The cost of acquiring Larkin in this ‘only-going-to-the-Panthers’ scenario would also likely include center Anton Lundell, perhaps Mackie Samoskevich and/or Sandis Vilmanis, and more.
If there is no such demand by Larkin and the bidding war is opened, Florida may not have enough ammunition to give Detroit what it needs to get rid of its franchise player.
But, one has to think, even if Larkin does not demand a trade to the Panthers, he would welcome a trade to the Panthers. That helps with the no-trade clause and gives Florida an edge over a team that Larkin would say no to.
Of course, Detroit and Yzerman could try to smooth things over with their hometown captain, move past the news cycle, then try to end what is now the longest playoff drought in the NHL at 10 years next season.
But it seems inevitable, now, that Larkin will be traded.
The captain of any team asking for a trade is a hard to come back from and would be a distraction moving forward. In a place like Detroit, there is no coming back from this.
As for the Panthers, they currently have about $15 million in cap space.
Florida needs to sign two goalies (which still could be Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov; we’ll see), get new contracts to RFAs Samoskevich and Cole Reinhardt, and add a seventh defenseman.
The Panthers could decide RFA Donovan Sebrango has that spot and move on although that has not been their style the past couple of offseasons.
To fit Larkin’s $8.7 million deal, a couple contracts would have to move to Detroit — with No. 3 center Lundell making up $5 million of that.
Florida, right now, has three top-end centers in Sasha Barkov, Sam Bennett, and Lundell.
Reinhardt or Cole Schwindt look like good options to start the season as Florida’s No. 4.
Would the Panthers be better with a player like Larkin on their team?
Yeah, probably.
But the team certainly loves Lundell — a two-time Cup champ with a stellar international resume who will be 25 when he starts his sixth NHL season.
The Panthers will probably try and see what a Larkin deal would cost, just don’t expect this one to work out this time.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Draft (9th in First Round, Seven Overall): June 26-27; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- NHL Free Agency: Opens July 1
- Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA