Published September 26, 2026 11:30am
The Avalanche have made Dylan Larkin’s list.
Whether Joe Sakic chooses to pursue the ex-Red Wings captain is another question.
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The Avalanche general manager must make a call. To pull it off, he’d need a hockey miracle.
The Avalanche closed out the home slate of their preseason schedule Friday night with a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, but that wasn’t the big news of the day. On his “32 Thoughts” podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman let it be known he heard Larkin had expanded the number of his potential destinations. The Avalanche are now one of them.
Larkin over the summer requested a trade from Detroit, a request that has fallen on deaf ears since he was originally only willing to go to three or four teams. The 30-year-old center agreed to show up to training camp, but the Red Wings, naturally, stripped him of his captaincy. His arrival led to an awkward press conference involving Larkin, where he gave zero explanation for his request. He’s one of a handful of Team USA members that won gold in Italy that have requested a trade over the last six months. Just like Connor Hellebuyck, he is still on his team.
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin speaks during an NHL hockey news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Larry Lage)
From an off-ice perspective, it’s fair to wonder if a captain who asks for a trade out of his hometown team is someone you want to throw into a locker room where the demands are high. The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs in a decade, and some of that must fall on Larkin. Sakic would need to do all the necessary due diligence on the off-ice portion of things to see if it’s a fit for the culture in Colorado.
On the ice, it’s difficult to look at Larkin’s résumé and think he couldn’t help this Avalanche team in more ways than one.
Perhaps the biggest reason a Larkin trade hasn’t happened yet is a difference of opinion on what he is. On the Red Wings, he’s the clear-cut first-line center and top forward. Other teams likely don’t view him as that. While Larkin is a very good player, he’s not someone you want as your best forward if you want to contend for a Stanley Cup.
That’s what makes the Avalanche such an intriguing fit. No one would ask him to be the top dog in Colorado. Larkin as your first-line center? Not ideal. Larkin playing behind Nathan MacKinnon and getting easier matchups? That could be a lot of fun for the Avalanche and not a lot of fun for the opposition.
Larkin has his flaws, but as a second-line center, he’d fit very well in Colorado. He has speed to burn and has surpassed the 30-goal mark each of the last five seasons. Fifty-seven of his goals over the last four seasons came on the man advantage, something Colorado would welcome to its lineup.
The addition of Larkin could also theoretically extend the contending window of this core. Although he’s 30, that’s nearly 5 and 6 years younger than Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri, respectively. Larkin might only be a marginal upgrade on Nelson at the second-line center spot in the short term. Given their difference in age, that gap could grow, helping Colorado’s long-term outlook. Larkin is locked up for three more seasons beyond this one at a reasonable $8.7 million cap hit.
Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (91) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
That’s where things get tricky, even if the Avalanche want to dip their toes into these sweepstakes.
It’s unclear what the Red Wings seek in exchange for Larkin. Detroit is an organization in chaos at the moment, which has to warm the hearts of Avalanche fans. Larkin wants out; they don’t have a full-time general manager; and one of their best defensemen is unsigned with the regular season just a few days away. Things are kind of a mess there.
Whoever is in charge in Detroit hasn’t received an acceptable trade offer for Larkin, or he’d be gone. It doesn’t help that Larkin is only willing to go to teams that either don’t have the cap space to bring him in or don’t have the assets to appease Detroit.
The Avalanche fall into both those boats.
Colorado has very little cap space, and acquiring Larkin would require multiple NHL players to head to Detroit in any trade to make the money work. Outside of Nicolas Roy, every player making meaningful money on the Avalanche has some degree of a no-trade clause. Why would anyone waive to go from a contending Avalanche team to a Red Wings squad that seemingly has no vision?
If the Red Wings want futures, Colorado’s depleted prospect pool isn’t likely to interest them. The top prospect for the Avalanche is goaltender Ilya Nabokov. Goalie prospects typically don’t hold a ton of value because of their unpredictability, and it’s one position where the Red Wings seem set.
Sakic has pulled off unlikely moves in the past, but a Larkin trade would require him to be a full-blown magician. Look on the bright side, though. The Avalanche made someone’s “yes” list. That’s a win in itself.