Dylan Larkin Is Expected to Be Traded This Week

It has been a long, messy summer and early fall in Detroit, and it doesn't look like things are about to get any less chaotic for the Red Wings. Between a GM shakeup, a contract holdout on the blue line, and a franchise captain who wants out, the Wings have had no shortage of drama. Now, according to one prominent NHL voice, the biggest domino of them all may be about to fall.

On a recent episode of the Frankly Hockey podcast, ESPN analyst John Buccigross dropped a pretty significant nugget. He told co-host Frank Seravalli that he believes a major trade is coming out of Detroit within seven to ten days. When Seravalli pressed him on whether he was referring to disgruntled captain Dylan Larkin, Buccigross confirmed it, saying simply that it's "coming."

The Larkin Saga and What Detroit Wants in Return

Larkin's desire to be moved became public back on June 4, and the situation has been hanging over the franchise ever since. The Michigan native has been a cornerstone of the Red Wings since breaking into the league during the 2015-16 season, but the relationship has clearly soured. Not long after the trade request surfaced, the organization parted ways with longtime general manager Steve Yzerman, eventually installing Shawn Horcoff as interim GM in mid-September.

Horcoff has been clear that he is not interested in tearing the roster down, which shapes the kind of return Detroit would be looking for. Rather than stockpiling draft picks and prospects, the expectation is that any Larkin deal would need to bring back a player of similar caliber. Larkin is signed through the 2030-31 season at an $8.7 million average annual value, a number that many around the league view as a bargain for a player of his ability. That contract could give the Wings real leverage in negotiations, and it sounds like we may finally see those negotiations come to a conclusion this week.

The Bigger Picture in Detroit

Larkin isn't the only headache for Horcoff right now. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a top-pair talent and restricted free agent, remains unsigned and has yet to play a game this season. The 23-year-old spent time training in Sweden before returning to North America, though he has stayed away from Detroit. The Red Wings face a December 1 deadline to either sign or trade him if they want him eligible to play in the NHL this year. Horcoff has insisted he has "zero interest" in moving Edvinsson and that the team is working hard to get a deal done. Buccigross speculated that Edvinsson could land a seven-year extension worth around $10 million per season, which would surpass Moritz Seider's $8.55 million AAV on the Detroit blue line.

Then there's the matter of the Alex DeBrincat extension. The Red Wings locked up the forward to a seven-year, $91 million deal last week, the richest contract in franchise history. While many analysts praised the signing on its own merits, Seravalli questioned the sequencing. His argument is straightforward: if neither the Larkin trade nor the Edvinsson contract gets resolved favorably, committing that kind of money to DeBrincat on a team that sits at 3-3-2 and tied for last in the Atlantic Division doesn't make a lot of sense. Seravalli suggested that an unsigned DeBrincat would have been a more valuable trade asset if things went sideways with the other two situations.

It's a fair point, and it highlights just how many plates Horcoff is trying to spin simultaneously in his first weeks on the job. If Buccigross is right and a Larkin trade materializes this week, it could reshape the entire direction of this franchise. The return Detroit gets will tell us a lot about whether this team is truly trying to compete now or quietly repositioning for the future, regardless of what the interim GM says publicly. Either way, Red Wings fans should buckle up, because this week could be one of the most consequential in recent Detroit hockey history.