Detroit Red Wings top-line center and captain Dylan Larkin wants to leave the franchise, and one of his potential destinations could be the Minnesota Wild.

But there is a huge caveat to the story about why Larkin might not join the Wild if one of the most well-known NHL insiders, Chris Johnston, is to be believed.

An X post from NHL Watcher mentioned it while referring to the insider speaking on his own podcast, The Chris Johnston Show (TJCS), recently. While Johnston agrees to Wild GM Bill Guerin having it in him to land Larkin, putting together a deal might be too much for him to ask for.

“You can be aggressive all you want and that's certainly in Bill Guerin's DNA but I don't think he has the pieces to make the deal make sense, there is not an obvious fit for me there,” said Johnston, as per what NHL Watcher wrote in their post from X.

Notably, Guerin managed to sign experienced defenseman and captain Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks in a massive trade deal in December 2025. However, to pull it off, he had to transfer young defenseman Zeev Buium, along with two promising forwards, Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, to them.

On top of that, Guerin agreed to give away their first-round draft pick Quinn Hughes for 2026 to the Canucks.

Although Hughes proved to be quite a success story, playing a key role in taking Minnesota to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Whether Guerin manages to sign Larkin in a blockbuster trade is anyone’s guess, but the 55-year-old might not shy away from taking risks as he did with the Hughes deal.

Moreover, if the Red Wings executive vice-president and GM Steve Yzerman decides to approve Larkin’s reported trade request, he could give the Wild strong consideration.

This might be the only positive for Guerin at this stage if the recent report published in Yahoo Sports via NHL insider Michael Russo of The Athletic is any indication.

Why is Dylan Larkin looking to leave the Detroit Red Wings?

Dylan Larkin has been a part of the Detroit Red Wings since his teenage years, after joining them as the 15th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. The 29-year-old has now played 11 seasons for the Red Wings, becoming one of the best offensive players in the league.

But despite registering 643 points (276G / 367A), he has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs only once with them in his first season in 2016.

After Detroit finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 41-31-10 record for 92 points in the 2025-26 regular season, he wasn’t quite pleased with it, as expected.

“I want to be here to help this team in any way I can to win the Stanley Cup,” said Larkin in April after the end of their first full season with head coach Todd McLellan, as per Yahoo Sports via MLive.

Moreover, after reportedly tendering a trade request to the Red Wings, he is almost certain to move elsewhere since it won’t be a good look for the franchise to keep him.

Will Dylan Larkin get to leave the Detroit Red Wings ahead of the 2026-27 season? Tell us your prediction in the comments.

Read more at NHL Fan Central!

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason