The Dylan Larkin trade saga might be on the backburner for the moment, but there is still considerable intrigue around him and the Detroit Red Wings franchise as the regular season approaches.
The Red Wings have quelled the immediate worry by moving ex-general manager Steve Yzerman to an advisory role and naming Shawn Horcoff as their interim general manager, which prompted Larkin to at least start the season in Detroit.
But Larkin is currently recovering from an upper-body injury, and the Red Wings are arguably behind the eight-ball in what is set to be a chaotic Atlantic Division. Failure to start the season on the right foot - seven of their first 10 games are at home, while they only have to play divisional opposition twice over that span - and there could easily be questions about whether the Red Wings need to punt on this iteration of the franchise.
While the Oilers could realistically make trades for a plethora of Red Wings stars, a recent piece from The Athletic begged an intriguing question: who's joining Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman on the second line?
Realistically, the Oilers could trade for a handful of Red Wings forwards and be able to create a second line that can score. But Larkin could end up being the best option for the Oilers.
Why Larkin makes perfect sense for the Oilers
Larkin is viewed as someone that can fill a top-or-second-line-center role, and that kind of responsibility has been the talk of the town when it comes to how teams can utilize him in their lineups.
If the Oilers were to pull off a trade for Larkin, he would effectively take on that second-line center role alongside Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman. That allows Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to take on a left wing role, Zach Hyman to maintain his place at right wing, and Babcock to keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together as part of a top-line that is essentially the equivalent of a wrecking ball.
In terms of point-scoring, Larkin brings a level of production that could very well match or even exceed that of Nugent-Hopkins and/or Hyman. Last season, Larkin recorded 67 points (34 goals and 33 assists) in 74 games played; that marked the fifth-consecutive season where he recorded at least 60 points.
At the same time, Nugent-Hopkins recorded 56 points (20 goals and 36 assists) in 72 games last season, while Hyman added 52 of his own (31 goals and 21 assists) in 58 games. It is worth noting that Hyman was injured for a considerable portion of last season; had he played at least 70 games, he would have recorded 63 points, four shy of Larkin's total from the 2025-26 campaign.
Let's also consider the fact that Larkin can play two-way hockey, which is something that could be combined effectively with Nugent-Hopkins' ability to play both ends of the ice and Hyman's work ethic.
With the above in mind, one could make a solid argument that a top-line of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Podkolzin and a second-line of Nugent-Hopkins, Larkin, and Hyman could easily be one of the most dangerous combinations in the entire league.
But the Oilers need to be wary
The most obvious reason: Larkin seems unwilling to expand the list of teams he would want to join.
The list appears to include the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars, with the latter being added to the first three in July. A potential return for the Red Wings in a trade with the Stars would likely include Wyatt Johnston, but the word as of now is that nothing materialized from that request.
While trade talks are being kept between Larkin and the front office as it stands, there could come a point where Larkin has to expand his list. No matter what Detroit's on-ice intentions are, Larkin's trade request is going to be a major talking point in and around Little Caesars Arena. If the Red Wings don't start strong or if they find a way to slump past midseason once again, the questions will only become more intense and they'll almost certainly seep into every single activity the organization undertakes.
If that happens, the Red Wings will either have to suspend Larkin, trade him for a minimal return just to end the issue or they'll have to ask him to expand his list so that the team can get more value back for his services.
The latter seems easier said than done. Larkin has not been willing to add Montreal to his trade list, meaning that the four-team list established early in the summer is still quite a firm one. But if push comes to shove, and Larkin expands his list to include a few more contenders, it's reasonable to assume that Edmonton could find their way onto that list.
Other factors?
If the Oilers make their way onto Larkin's trade list, they need to keep in mind the return and the budget. While a recent piece from Yahoo Sports reinforced the potential for the Oilers to acquire Larkin, it acknowledged that a return involving Matt Savoie, Josh Samanski, prospect Beau Akey, and a third-round pick would be hard to pull off in considering the production and salary factors, both of which are arguably intertwined with one another.
The former is especially true in considering that neither Savoie or Samanski have played more than a full NHL season.
To even get close to encouraging Detroit to pull the trigger, the Oilers would likely need to include Trent Frederic, who still doesn't match Larkin's production but has significantly more playoff experience. From there, they would need to add Isaac Howard and/or Matt Savoie, the former of which was recently ranked as the team's top prospect and could therefore become an intriguing trade piece if he doesn't make the Oilers roster out of training camp.
The team could probably get away with Akey and a third-round pick to finish off the package, but they would have to take on all of Larkin's $8.7 million AAV. The good news for the Oilers in that regard is that shedding Frederic's contract gives them almost $5 million in cap space, though they would likely need to send both Savoie and Howard to Detroit to give themselves a chance to match the rest of Larkin's AAV.
The Yahoo Sports-offered trade claimed that Edmonton would still win such a deal, but their package means that Edmonton would need to either come up with some salary cap space or ask Detroit to eat half of Larkin's annual salary. A package involving Frederic represents a loss in experience, but it puts Edmonton in a better position financially. That is key here.
The Oilers could very well close the gap to the Stanley Cup by trading for Larkin, but there are plenty of factors that they have to consider if they are going to call Detroit. Even then, Oilers fans are going to have to wait on this one.
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