For the first 12 games of the season, the Detroit Red Wings and Dylan Larkin had decided to continue to live together despite effectively being broken up.
It appears that arrangement is coming to a close.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Larkin won't play until he's traded, with Pierre LeBrun reporting he will be out for the "foreseeable future."
"All I can say is that Dylan’s had enough of the situation," Larkin's agent, Pat Brisson, told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 29.
The news comes just after the Red Wings had a northwestern road trip that culminated in a 4-3 shootout win against the Edmonton
Oilers. The Wings were only in that position because of a Larkin goal with 17 seconds left that forced overtime, which ultimately might prove to be his last moment with the winged wheel on his chest.
Thursday's development comes a little less than a week after Connor Hellebuyck was traded to the New Jersey Devils, ending his suspension for not reporting to the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets got a hefty haul in that trade, netting forward Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, forward Nick Bjugstad, the rights to forward Alexander Command, New Jersey’s own second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and New Jersey’s own seventh-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft.
Larkin has amended his initial list of trade partners, which originally was made up of the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers. He has since added the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Utah Mammoth, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes.
Here's a look at how realistic each of those destinations are.
Ranking possible Dylan Larkin trade destinations
1. Utah Mammoth
The Mammoth might have started in the "just happy to be here" club on Larkin's list, but this is legitimately a compelling destination. A team that made the playoffs last season, has an enthusiastic fanbase, and is absolutely dripping with farm system talent that might better suit the Wings' timeline, Utah actually makes a ton of sense. For Larkin.
The question is more "does Utah want this?" The team has a 1-2 center punch of Nick Schmaltz and the newly acquired Vincent Trocheck, the latter of whom Larkin would be an improvement upon but it's negligible enough it might not be worth what it takes to land him.
All-in-all, this is the team Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcoff should have on the horn. But Utah GM Bill Armstrong might be screening his calls.
2. Washington Capitals
The Capitals finally seem to be finding some solid ground here in Alex Ovechkin's swan song. The team has tinkered with its roster year after year, hoping to get Ovi one more out the door. But its center depth leaves a lot to be desired.
The question: Will the Capitals be willing to move Ilya Protas? The 20 year old has star potential, and he fits the Wings' timeline better. However, there's a chance the Caps view that as a losing deal, so they might hunker down and ride out the season. Ovechkin is the x-factor. Do the Capitals want to risk the future for one last ride, even in a competitive Metropolitan Division?
3. Minnesota Wild
The Wild must be the clear frontrunners here, but there are obstacles.
Bill Guerin LOVES the USA team that brought home gold at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics, and the Wild have a Quinn Hughes problem. Hughes seems to want out of Minnesota, and getting Larkin could be a lure to get him to stay.
The problem, of course, is the Wild burned most of their trade capital to get Hughes in the first place. The Wild's offer to get Larkin, which reportedly most notably has Danila Yurov and Charlie Stramel in play, can't really escalate if the trade offers get more competitive, and it hasn't been accepted yet.
4. Carolina Hurricanes
The thing about being the defending champion is that, if you don't get better, you're going to get left behind.
The Canes are by no means floundering. They're still the class of the league, leading the NHL with 22 points here in the early going. But the question is if they can keep that up over a season. Carolina being on Larkin's list is notable, in the sense the Hurricanes would be shoring up an already strong center position.
The question if you're the Wings is: How much do you like lotteries? The Hurricanes are trying to repeat, which means you're looking at American Hockey Leaguers and back-of-the-round draft picks. This is going to be a tough one for an interim GM to swing, which hurts the realism of it. But it is the kind of deal that looks decent on paper.
5. Dallas Stars
This is another team living in the "if they wanted to do it, they would've done it" bucket. But the Stars might be able to put together a package of players who are a little closer than Carolina's.
While at this point we probably shouldn't expect to see a name like Jason Robertson in a Larkin deal, the Stars need a bit of extra oomph. They're 25th in goals this season and generating offense has been an issue. While you're not getting a 40-goal player in Larkin, he could slot in well alongside Robertson.
There are a lot of obstacles to this deal getting done, specifically the fact the Stars' less than impressive farm system might not coincide with the Wings' timeline. But we can't rule anything out at this point.
6. Everyone else
The Lightning, Avalanche, Devils, Panthers and Golden Knights round out this list. It just isn't happening.
The Devils and Panthers have completely tied up their future assets to get Hellebuyck and Brady Tkachuk, respectively, so while those avenues may have at some point worked, they are now blocked off. The Avalanche are a non-starter, with no picks or prospects to speak of and Stanley Cup aspirations.
The Lightning and Golden Knights you could argue have paths, but the Golden Knights have done some wheeling and dealing in recent years that has them in a position to not need another center while the Lightning have a lot of draft capital but not in the immediate future.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dylan Larkin, Red Wings admit relationship over. Ranking possible trade destinations
