Credit: USA TODAY Sports
It feels like the Minnesota Wild have been chasing Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin forever. Yet, president of hockey operations Bill Guerin feels farther away than he was two months ago, in landing the 30-year-old centerman.
While waiting for former Wings GM Steve Yzerman to blink during trade talks this offseason had proven fruitless, to this point, at least Guerin knew where things stood with Yzerman — his good friend and former Metro Division rival.
Now that Steve is out as Red Wings general manager, there are all sorts of questions surrounding what the future looks like for Larkin. Mostly here in Minnesota, does this help or hurt the Wild?
Dylan Larkin probably had a lot to do with Steve Yzerman’s title-change in Detroit
The most important aspect of that question lies in the relationship between the player and (former) GM. And according to reports, it’s widely believed that Yzerman and Larkin had a fracture in their relationship the size of Lake Michigan, going back at least five years, when Yzerman delayed naming Larkin the Red Wings’ captain.
Ansar Khan: Re Dylan Larkin trade request/Red Wings: I think this whole thing started…years ago when Henrik Zetterberg retired, everybody thought…Larkin makes sense…except Yzerman who went a couple years…no captain; I think that shaked Larkin – Jason Gregor Show (7/15)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 18, 2026
One-time Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau, for example, believes the soured relationship between the two was probably what cost Yzerman his job. And he isn’t the only one, either.
“I’m guessing, in my opinion, it had something to do with Dylan Larkin.” 👀
Bruce Boudreau on Steve Yzerman stepping down as GM with the Red Wings. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/RUn8ounkA2
— OverDrive (@OverDrive1050) July 16, 2026
Obviously, the removal of Yzerman as Red Wings general manager has many, both around Detroit and the NHL, wondering what Dylan Larkin is thinking. If he and anybody higher up in the organization were looking for a moment to get back on the same page, this could be it.
That would be bad news for the Minnesota Wild, who have pinned their entire offseason on acquiring yet another 2026 Olympic Gold Medalist. For now, it doesn’t seem like those in the know have a good grasp on how Larkin is feeling in the moment.
Helene St. James (Detroit Free Press) wrote a few days ago that, especially given how difficult finding a trade partner has been for the Red Wings, that a return under new leadership can’t be ruled out.
Around the same time, however, St. James made an appearance on “OverDrive” (TSN) and talked a lot about how it would be really difficult for Larkin to walk back his trade request, given how fractured that relationship is right now.
“I don’t think Larkin can walk this back.” 👀@HeleneStJames on Dylan Larkin’s future with the Red Wings with Steve Yzerman stepping down as GM.#LGRW pic.twitter.com/9uMftlttGL
— OverDrive (@OverDrive1050) July 15, 2026
Feschuk: “When you look at the Larkin situation, Helene, and what you know about it, would this particular move — moving Yzerman out of the GM seat, given that Larkin has been publicly critical of at least one trade deadline situation in Detroit — do you think that would at all change Larkin’s stance his want to move?”
St. James: “Yeah, that’s a great question but, man, that would be a lot to walk back. I mean, it’s been going on now for two months and the organization is upset with him for asking for a trade after they’ve paid down the chunk of the actual salary, $31 million over three years, for that contract. I don’t know.”
“I just don’t know, even if it’s a different GM — I mean, Steve Yzerman still works for the team. I just don’t know if Dylan Larkin can walk this back, but at the same time, it might be his best option.”
Related: MN Wild HC Weighs in on Quinn Hughes Contract Talks
From there, St. James talked about how the Red Wings essentially need a top-line center back in any trade that they send Larkin out in. Doing anything else could signal more down years and another rebuild in Detroit.
After 10 years of the current rebuild, that probably won’t go over well with the fanbase, which is a major blockade in moving Dylan Larkin. And now that they no longer have a general manager in place, the questions are 10x what they were before.
Dylan Larkin trade to MN Wild will have to wait even longer…
That’s why, in all likelihood, Minnesota Wild fans — along with their PoHO Bill Guerin — will be waiting a while before they get to sit down at the negotiating table again over the idea of acquiring Larkin… if it happens at all.
NHL insider Michael Russo — along with the TV voice of the MN Wild Anthony LaPanta — discussed exactly that in their latest episode of “Worst Seats in the House“.
On the latest episode of “Worst Seats in the House”, @RussoHockey and @AnthonyLaPanta both believe Dylan Larkin is more likely to be traded than not, but Yzerman’s demotion in Detroit will certainly delay things.
Also, the MN Wild’s trade offer will not change. It’s take it or… pic.twitter.com/ntH9puEhIC
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) July 18, 2026
“I still think there’s a better chance of him moving than not, but this certainly slows things down, and is going to make this drag on further and further. Because I just cannot imagine that Dylan Larkin is getting traded without the next uh apparent to the GM in place”
“What the Wild are going to be hoping is that the next [Red Wings] GM or president of hockey ops actually goes in there and says, ‘alright, I’ll take the futures,’ because the Wild, there’s just nothing more that they can offer. Their assets are their assets. They’re not going to miraculously have new prospects and they’re certainly not trading any core players off their roster.”
Michael Russo – Worst Seats in the House Podcast
Once the Wings hire a new leader of the organization, we might (hopefully) get a better idea of where this is all heading. Russo isn’t the only NHL reporter who is ready to wait a lot longer for this Dylan Larkin situation to get resolved, possibly even into training camp.
Chris Johnston: It’s gonna be a long summer for Dylan Larkin I suspect, and I really won’t be surprised if he’s back in training camp with Detroit; but there’s a long way between then and now – Chris Johnston Show (7/10)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 17, 2026
Mentioned in this article: Detroit Red Wings Dylan Larkin NHL Trade Rumors
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