Wild Keep Dangling One Name In Dylan Larkin Trade Offer
The price would start with their most valuable young asset.
Per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Wild GM Bill Guerin is looking to add up front and has been dangling young center Danila Yurov as a primary piece in a package for a center, while also being willing to move at least one future first-round draft pick to get a deal done.
Why the Fit Is So Natural
Larkin officially requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings, and the Wild are believed to be one of three teams on his preferred destination list alongside the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers.
All three are Stanley Cup contenders, and all three feature players Larkin won Olympic gold with for Team USA in Milan.
Minnesota's need could not be more obvious.
Wild/Red Wings Mock Trade via @theScore
— NHLMuse (@NHL_Muse) June 7, 2026
Wild Acquire:
— Dylan Larkin
Red Wings Acquire:
— Danila Yurov
— Charlie Stramel
— David Spacek
— 2027 1st
Who says no? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Ws8SRLsIZe
The Wild's lack of center depth was exposed in their first-round series loss when Joel Eriksson Ek was injured and Ryan Hartman was forced into a first-line role.
Larkin, a remarkably consistent two-way center who has scored between 30 and 34 goals in each of the last five seasons while averaging 75 games played, would slot in as the No. 1 center the franchise has chased since its inception, reuniting with Team USA teammates Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Faber.
He carries an $8.7 million cap hit through 2030-31 and holds full no-trade protection, which is why he controls his destination.
Who Yurov Is
Yurov is the centerpiece because he is the best young player Minnesota has left after trading away prospects like Zeev Buium and David Jiricek.
The 24th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Yurov lit up the KHL with 41 goals and 47 assists across 209 games before coming to North America, and in his first NHL season, he posted 12 goals, 15 assists, and 27 points in 73 games while averaging just 13:57 of ice time.
DANILA YUROV OH MY pic.twitter.com/e9xevR4J4Y
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) March 11, 2026
The 22-year-old has a high ceiling that has long made him one of the organization's most prized assets, which is exactly what makes his inclusion in trade talks so significant.
Minnesota has just over $9.4 million in salary cap space and is determined to solve its center problem one way or another this offseason.
The Skepticism
Not everyone is convinced Yurov headlining a package gets it done.
Craig Button, the former NHL general manager who now serves as TSN's director of amateur scouting, questioned whether a package built around Yurov and fellow prospect Charlie Stramel would be enough to land an elite player like Larkin.
"Larkin, an elite player in the National Hockey League, for Charlie Stramel and Yurov?" Button asked, casting doubt on whether that return matches Larkin's value.
There is broader skepticism within NHL circles as to whether Minnesota's package could outbid other teams, particularly if Larkin expands his list of approved destinations.
Most mock frameworks have the Wild offering some combination of Hartman, Yurov, Stramel, and a 2027 first-round pick, with goaltender Jesper Wallstedt also floated as a piece in some proposals, given Detroit's need in net.
Detroit, which has assembled one of the league's stronger prospect pools and may not want a package of players still far from contributing, holds the leverage of Larkin's no-trade list being short.
Elliotte Friedman delivered his strongest comments yet on the situation this week.
"I think they're going to trade him," Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "I think Yzerman looks at it like we have to move on, can't bring him back, have to move on."
