Dylan Larkin is remaining steadfast in keeping his approved trade list at 10 teams as his suspension from the Detroit Red Wings nears the one-week mark.
Larkin was suspended without pay by the Red Wings Thursday for deciding to longer to play for the team in hopes of spurring the trade he requested in the spring.
The 30-year-old centre’s trade request has been public since June, but he initially submitted a list of just three teams he would accept a trade to. That list now stands at 10 teams, but the Red Wings have implored Larkin to expand it.
“Here’s where I’d say the situation is at right now - it’s a bit of a game of poker in that the Red Wings have told Larkin’s camp they feel like they’ve exhausted every option here with these 10 teams on his list,” TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun explained Tuesday on Insider Trading. “They’re just not there with a trade that makes sense for them.
“But they would like to go deeper in talks with six to eight other teams outside his list, where the Red Wings believe there’s more fertile ground to find the kind of package they need.
“Those six to eight teams that aren’t on the list include the likes of Montreal, Boston, L.A., and Buffalo, as we talked about. But Larkin’s camp, led by agent Pat Brisson, has told the Red Wings again, I’m told over the last few days, no.”
Larkin’s list is currently made up of the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Mammoth, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche.
Red Wings interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said last week he believes a trade would be easier to complete if Larkin considered more options.
“There probably are certain teams in the league that, if they were on his list, it would be easier for us to come to a deal and come to an agreement,” Horcoff said. “But unfortunately, at this point, we’re not there yet.”
Larkin’s camp, meanwhile, feels the list is already long enough, and a trade should have already been completed.
“Dylan’s had enough of the situation,” Larkin’s agent Pat Brisson wrote in a statement shared on X by LeBrun last week. “We believe he’s been very professional and cooperative through this process.”
Larkin, who is in the fourth season of an eight-year, $69.6 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $8.7 million, is forfeiting $41,237.11 each day he is suspended.
A native of nearby Waterford Township, Mich., Larkin has two goals and six points in 10 games this season. He was stripped of the team’s captaincy ahead of reporting for training camp in September.
Drafted 15th overall by the Red Wings in 2014, Larkin has 278 goals and 649 points in 818 career games.
Edvinsson also on the way out in Detroit?
In addition to the Larkin saga, Horcoff is also balancing negotiations with the only remaining restricted free agent left in the NHL in defenceman Simon Edvinsson.
Edvinsson initially spent training camp with the Red Wings despite not having a contract, but later returned to Sweden. He is back in North America, but continues to be without a deal as a Dec. 1 deadline to sign looms.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports the two sides do not appear to be on the same page as the deadline continues to draw closer.
“I can tell you that Detroit still sees a glimmer of hope, maybe a slight possibility, that Simon Edvinsson can be re-signed by the club,” Dreger said Tuesday. “I don’t see that at all.
“What I see is a growing frustration with both Edvinsson and Larkin from the teams that have expressed interest in these players that Shawn Horcoff, the interim general manager, isn’t willing to negotiate up off those existing offers that have been tabled again on both of these players.
“The Red Wings keep looking for the perfect package. Maybe it’s outside the list of teams on Larkin. Perhaps it’s outside the level of interest in Edvinsson. But the waiting game appears to be a dangerous one.”
The 23-year-old Edvinsson scored nine goals with 25 points in 72 regular-season games in 2025-26.
The sixth-overall pick in 2021 by Detroit, Edvinsson made his NHL debut on March 18, 2023 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite the off-ice drama, the Red Wings remain competitive in the tight Atlantic Division, with a 7-6-3 record through 16 games. Detroit will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday after falling 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.