Dylan Larkin Trade Talks With Wild Hit a Wall. Here’s What’s Left.

The idea of Dylan Larkin landing in Minnesota was always going to come down to one thing: what Detroit wanted back. And what Detroit wanted back, apparently, was Matt Boldy. The Wild have no interest in moving Boldy. That has basically ended the conversation before it really got started.

Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet laid it out flat. The Red Wings would trade Larkin to Minnesota if Boldy came the other way. Otherwise, Steve Yzerman isn’t interested in what the Wild have to offer. And Bill Guerin isn’t about to trade a 25-year-old franchise forward coming off an 85-point season and a playoff run where he looked even better. That’s a non-starter.

So where does that leave Larkin? He’s got three options, according to Kypreos, and none of them are great.

The Three Paths Forward

First, he can expand his trade list. Right now it sounds like Minnesota and Vegas are the two teams he’d accept a move to. Neither one has the kind of asset Yzerman wants badly enough to pull the trigger. Second, he can start next season back in Detroit. Third, he can refuse to report and sit out. That last one doesn’t seem likely, but it’s technically on the table.

Kypreos thinks option No. 2 is the most realistic as of July 1. Larkin would show up for camp, put the helmet back on, and play. For now, that’s probably what happens.

But here’s the thing. The relationship between Larkin and Yzerman has been strained for a while now. It’s not impossible to fix, but it’s not great either. You don’t get to the point where a captain asks for a trade and then just go back to business as usual like nothing happened. The locker room knows. The fans know. Everybody knows.

What Minnesota Actually Has

Beyond Boldy, the Wild’s prospect pool and roster don’t offer much that Detroit would find exciting. Marco Rossi is interesting but not the kind of centerpiece you’d hang a Larkin trade on. Draft picks? Maybe, but Yzerman isn’t exactly desperate for futures. He wants a player who can help now or become a core piece down the road. Boldy fits that. Nobody else on the Wild roster really does.

Vegas is in a similar spot. The Golden Knights have some pieces, but nothing that screams “centerpiece for a captain.” So Larkin’s list is essentially two teams, and neither one has the right price tag.

There’s no indication Larkin intends to broaden his list. He’s been specific about where he’d go. If he holds firm, Detroit either trades him to a team he doesn’t want or keeps him. And keeping him is looking more and more like the fallback plan.

That’s not a disaster for the Wings. Larkin is still a quality center. But it’s not the clean break anyone expected either. The whole thing is stuck in neutral, and there’s no obvious way to get it moving again.