Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin hitting the ice in a Vegas Golden Knights jersey this fall might surprise many, except for NHL insider and TSN sportscaster Darren Dreger.

“Vegas always seems to be involved in these sorts of better player deals; I could see Dylan Larkin in Vegas,” he said in an episode of First Up with Korolnek & Colaiacovo on June 29, posted by NHL Rumour Report on X.

And this comes from Larkin’s own moves. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Red Wings Captain requested a trade on June 4, 2026. He shortlisted the Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers as his three favored destinations.

However, the Vegas Knights seemed the most suitable, given Larkin’s close friendship with Knights’ center Jack Eichel. Plus, Vegas is a contender, while the Red Wings have not made the playoffs since 2016, when they lost in the first round to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Moreover, Knights’ GM Kelly McCrimmon has a history of making difficult trades work through aggressive swings. The team tends to prioritize instant contention over prospect development, easily trading away future assets and high draft picks to acquire established players.

The way they have acquired expensive players like Eichel, Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin or even Mitch Marner is a strategy that might work in Larkin’s case as well. But some roadblocks are there.

Obstacles to Dylan Larkin's Vegas Trade

The first setback would be the Red Wings’ GM Steve Yzerman. Once Larkin’s trade request was no longer a secret, Yzerman revealed how he would proceed with the matter during a June 27, 2026, video press conference following the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, as reported by Markerzone’s Skyler Walker.

“My job as the manager of the Detroit Red Wings is always to do what is in the best interest of the Detroit Red Wings, and I will act accordingly to that,” Yzerman said. “I cannot make any guarantees, or did not make any guarantees, that that request could or would be met.”

But with Pavel Dorofeyev traded away to the New York Rangers and the team sitting almost $9M over the salary cap, the Knights have neither a player to offer to Detroit nor the capital to sustain Larkin’s $8.7M cap hit.

But Dreger would still choose to have faith in McCrimmon.

Are you with him on this? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy