Red Wings Blockbuster Trade Pitch Sends $70 Million Captain to Vegas Dylan Larkin’s name has circulated through NHL trade chatter for months, and one scenario now points toward Las Vegas in a proposed swap sending Detroit’s captain west for two proven veterans and a haul of draft capital. The framework, outlined by a user at the hockey site PuckPedia, has Vegas sending William Karlsson, Nic Dowd, a 2028 first-round pick and a 2030 second-round pick to Detroit for Larkin and a 2030 third-rounder. It’s a dollar-for-dollar swap that would immediately reshape both rosters heading into 2026-27. Larkin, 30, is signed through 2030-31 at an $8.7 million cap hit, part of a $69.6 million deal he signed with Detroit in March 2023. He’s coming off a 34-goal, 67-point season and remains a two-way threat at center, exactly the profile Vegas would want lined up behind Jack Eichel. The proposal slots Larkin as Vegas’ top-line center opposite Eichel, a pairing that would give the Golden Knights a legitimate 1-2 punch down the middle. Larkin has already made his preference known. Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman confirmed in June that Larkin’s camp delivered a list of preferred destinations, with Vegas among them. “Shortly after the season, I received a phone call from Dylan Larkin’s agent, informing me that Dylan would like to be traded,” Yzerman said, according to NHL.com. “A week or so after that, Dylan’s agent followed up with a short list of teams that Dylan would consider waiving his no-trade clause to go to.” Jack Eichel offered some insight into why Vegas keeps surfacing on players’ short lists. “If you ask guys in the league, Vegas ain’t on people’s no-trade lists,” Eichel said, as quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. Vegas is already projected at a $112.#detroit_red_wings #dylan_larkin #vegas_golden_knights #jack_eichel #steve_yzerman
