NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 24 : linesman Jonathan Deschamps #80 holds Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils and Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings apart after the end of the NHL regular season game at the Prudential Center on November 24, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 4-3. (Photo by Andrew Maclean/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images Jared Moore Wed, October 21, 2026 at 12:05 PM UTC · 12 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For much of the summer, former Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin had made it clear that he only wanted to be traded to a small handful of NHL contenders in the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Florida had spent most of their remaining trade assets to unite the Tkachuk brothers in Florida. Vegas was already short on tradable assets thanks in part to previous moves they had made to bolster a roster than went to the Cup Final last season. And Minnesota, seemingly the last man standing on Larkin's original list, couldn't agree to terms with Detroit on a trade. As a result, Larkin has remained in Detroit to start the season despite his trade request.
Larkin is a player that I have long thought makes sense for the Devils as adding him down the middle would give the Devils as good a 1-2-3 punch at center as anyone in the league. And make no mistake, you NEED to have a legitimate 1-2-3 down the middle if you want to be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. But I never really thought it was worth taking the time to discuss the idea as Larkin seemingly didn't have any interest in waiving his no-trade clause to come to New Jersey.
Reputable Red Wings beat reporter Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported on Tuesday that Larkin has expanded his list of preferred destinations to ten teams . Along with the aforementioned three teams, joining his list now are the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth, Washington Capitals…..and yes, the New Jersey Devils.
Larkin is reportedly willing to come to New Jersey. But should New Jersey even want him, and if they did, what would a trade even look like?
Larkin, who turned 30 over the summer, is a two-way center who plays in all situations. He's a perennial 30 goal scorer, having reached that mark in each of the last five seasons. I wouldn't say he's a 1:1 direct comparable player to Nico Hischier, but the two share many similarities in how they play the game. Similar frames, similar production. Both had been leaders on their respective clubs. Both play in all situations. Both win a lot of faceoffs.
Interestingly enough though, I do think Larkin brings some things to the table that this Devils team lacks. Larkin historically has not had issues finishing around the net, which can't be said about most of the forwards on the Devils roster. He has what I would call a deceptively heavy shot where it doesn't look like he's getting a ton on it but he's capable of beating opposing goaltenders clean from the high slot and/or top of the circle. His backhand shot is underrated, as is his ability to pick corners. I also think he is a good enough skater where he'd be a fit for the style and brand of hockey the Devils are looking to play attacking off the rush, although his boots will likely decline some as he continues to get older.
Signed through the end of the 2030-31 season, Larkin has four more seasons remaining on his deal after this one at $8.7M AAV. I think that last point is also key when talking about Larkin. This is a salary cap league where the cap is continually rising. While it's true that Larkin is signed through his age 35 season, that $8.7M cap charge is a relatively low number for a Top Six caliber center. That number is only going to continue to look better and better as the cap increases further, and from a Devils perspective, you'd be talking about a team that is set down the middle with Hischier ($11.7M AAV through 2032), Jack Hughes ($8M AAV through 2030), and potentially Larkin through the end of the decade.
I do think there are two things worth mentioning with Larkin. First, the Devils did try to acquire a center this offseason with the Barrett Hayton offer sheet that Utah ultimately matched. The Devils ultimately pivoted and went in a different direction, but I wouldn't discount Sunny Mehta recognizing the importance of the position and the need to address it. The other thing that is worth mentioning is that both of the Devils bottom six centers in Evan Rodrigues and Cody Glass are slated to hit UFA this summer.
I also think when it comes to discussing Dylan Larkin, its worth bringing up the elephant in the room.
Larkin was a key member of the US Olympic hockey team, as was Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes. Larkin also is close to the Hughes brothers in general, having spent a bunch of time with them over the summer. Larkin and Quinn are close enough to the point where when I wrote about it this summer , I thought if Larkin wound up in Minnesota that that might be enough to convince Quinn Hughes to stay there.
I wouldn't suggest that the Devils trade for a specific player because it might make another player more likely to sign with them in the summer. That said, the Devils need to be cognizant of the fact that this is an arms race. It's the player empowerment era. Either you adapt and load up on star players who want to come play for you, or you don't and you get left behind. Either you be aggressive now when it comes to team building, or you wonder what the heck just happened if and when Jack Hughes is the next Team USA star to consider his options elsewhere.
Part of the reason why Larkin wanted to go to Minnesota in the first place was to play with Quinn Hughes. I would guess part of the reason why he's open to the idea of coming to New Jersey is to play with Jack and Luke Hughes. The Devils should embrace that and beat Minnesota to the punch by exploring a Larkin trade. And if it just so happens that adding Larkin is the move that ultimately pushes Quinn Hughes to New Jersey next summer to join his brothers, I fail to see how that's a bad thing. If good players want to play for you, you find a way to make it happen and then worry about making it all work from a cap perspective down the road.
Speaking of beating teams to the punch, the Devils would also be smart to be aggressive here and keep Larkin away from a Carolina team they've struggled to beat and a Washington team that had their way with them the other day. Especially when those are the two teams most likely to finish 1-2 in the Metropolitan Division this season.
It's not often you see Top Six centers traded in the NHL, let alone centers under contract for another half decade. But if there is a trade that could potentially be used as a comparable, maybe we look as far back as the Jack Eichel trade for one.
Eichel, who wanted out of Buffalo in part because of a disagreement over how to treat his neck injury but also because of Buffalo's track record as a perennial loser, had been stripped of the captaincy. He also had four plus years remaining on his contract at the time and was five years younger than Larkin is now.
Vegas ultimately agreed to terms on a trade, sending Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a first round pick, and a future second round pick in exchange for Eichel and a third.
Tuch was the established NHL player Buffalo got back, having scored 139 points in 249 games over four seasons with the Golden Knights. Krebs, then a top prospect, didn't really get a chance to establish himself in Vegas as he was the "young prospect with upside" piece of this deal, but has since become a fixture in the Sabres lineup. Add in a first round pick (that eventually became Noah Ostlund) and a future second rounder and Buffalo probably did as well as could reasonably be expected given the circumstances at the time. After all, Eichel didn't want to be there anymore and they were working against the clock as he had a NMC slated to kick in the next offseason, which would've only further limited the market and return.
The market is what the market is though. Eichel was legitimately injured at the time and I'm sure Buffalo wasn't the only team scared off by the surgery that Eichel preferred at the time, which probably limited the market to some extent. Centers are in high demand and short supply, particularly those on contracts that may be deemed team-friendly. Still, I think this is a reasonable deal that can be used as a framework for a potential Larkin deal.
Dawson Mercer would seem to be the obvious fit as the "Alex Tuch, established NHL player" piece of this deal. This isn't me saying that Dawson Mercer is as good as or better than Alex Tuch, as I don't believe that to be the case. But he is an NHL player, albeit a flawed one, and may or may not be a piece Detroit would want in return. The Devils wouldn't be able to make a deal anyways without moving some money out so Mercer's $4M salary would almost have to go the other way. Now, if I were Detroit, I'd probably prefer Arseny Gritsyuk over Mercer, but that would be one where if I were Sunny Mehta, I'd push back on and say no.
I do struggle to find the top prospect fit, but I would guess the first few players Detroit would ask for are Anton Silaev, Alexander Command, and Mikhail Yegorov. I don't think the draft picks would be much of a concern, especially since the Devils still have the extra first rounder remaining from the Simon Nemec trade, but there are reasons why the Devils should want to hold on to each of those prospects. I wouldn't go as far as to say they should be off-limits but I do think those are players Detroit would ask about. I don't know if an injured Seamus Casey or a Lenni Hameenaho moves the needle much in this particular case.
One potential complicating factor though is cap space, as the Devils simply don't have a whole lot of it at the moment. Attaching Stefan Noesen or Cody Glass to this deal wouldn't create enough space for the Devils to fit Larkin in. Adding Anthony Mantha or Brenden Dillon would create enough space, but I don't know why Detroit would want players in their 30s for Larkin. I also don't think its realistic to ask Detroit to retain cap space on Larkin to drop the cap hit down, as they're probably not going to want salary retention on their books for five years.
I don't know if a deal centered around Mercer, Command, and future picks is quite enough to get it over the finish line, particularly when compared to other teams best offers, but I do think its at least a starting point where the Red Wings aren't hanging up the phone when Sunny Mehta calls. Sunny would likely need to get creative though in terms of making the cap work, which would likely involve looping in a third team to take some salary off of the Devils books. He may also need to get creative in finding the right pieces Detroit would want back to get them to say yes.
Sunny Mehta has previously said that his job trying to improve the Devils is never done. So I do think that with the Devils on Larkin's list, they should at least explore the idea of bringing him in.
I get that some might be put off by Larkin's public trade request, but I do think it is ultimately coming from a desire to be on a winning team and/or him being sick of losing. The Devils still have work to do in that respect to show that they're not that type of team, but they are coming off a very good win against Colorado and have a lot of runway this season to show they're not Detroit.
The Larkin to the Devils fit isn't necessarily seamless, but its tough to argue that the Devils wouldn't be a better team with Larkin. Larkin would give the Devils another legitimate top six option and more flexibility to juggle the lineup as they see fit. Maybe on some nights, that's having Jack on the wing with Nico or Larkin. Maybe it's having an embarrassment of riches down the middle with Larkin centering Mantha and Brown on the third line. I don't know how Sheldon Keefe will make the pieces work, but I'd rather have the problem of having too many good players than not having enough.
Larkin is a valuable enough piece though between his contract and versatility as a player where it might be worth overpaying to acquire him. I can't stress enough how difficult it is to find quality centers, and while Larkin isn't Connor McDavid, he's far from being a scrub either. You can't go out into free agency and buy a Dylan Larkin, and if you were trying to do so in 2026, it would cost far more than the $8.7M AAV he's currently making.
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