On June 4, news broke that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade. As shocking as that sounded, things got interesting within days when it became public that he had submitted a short list of teams he was interested in joining, featuring the Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, and the Florida Panthers.
Considering that Larkin has a full no-movement clause in his contract, the 11-year veteran will determine exactly where he will play hockey in 2026-27. Interestingly, after spending his entire career as an anchor of the Red Wings rebuild, he wants to join an instant contender and team up with a teammate from Team USA's Olympic gold-medal team, such as Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, or Matthew Tkachuk.
According to The Athletic (subscription required), the Panthers have the pieces to add Larkin to their already stacked lineup of former leaders from other teams. In their best trade proposal, journalists Max Bultman and Corey Pronman believe that all Florida needs to offer is Eetu Luostarinen, Sandis Vilmanis, and the No. 9 overall pick in this year's draft in exchange for Larkin.
First things first, the Panthers have roughly $15 million in cap space, with no goalies signed to play next season. Future Hall of Famer Sergei Bobrovsky had previously made $10 million a year, and unless he takes a discount, re-signing him would eat up a good portion of the available cap space.
Larkin is halfway through his eight-year, $69 million deal and carries a cap hit of $8.7 million. If the Panthers move Luostarinen, who has a cap hit of $3 million, they still need to find roughly $5 million to make the math work. Adding 22-year-old Vilmanis in the deal doesn't close the gap that much, since his cap hit is only $930k, which means that Florida would need to pick up the roughly $4 million difference on their books, unless the Red Wings retain some of his salary.
Elliotte Friedman believes Florida Panthers have put in their best offer to bring Dylan Larkin to Paradise https://t.co/1K4B3zBTKR
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) June 10, 2026
So, out of the $15 million available, they'd be down to $10 million to sign two goalies, including a possible extension for Bobrovsky, and the remainder of their free agents like Vinnie Hinostroza, Tomas Nosek, and Luke Kunin. Moreover, the Panthers have some restricted free agents, including Cole Schwindt and Mackie Samoskevich, who also need new contracts.
Obviously, the rewards of a star player like Larkin are worth the risk. In 808 games, the 29-year-old from Waterford, MI, has 276 goals and 643 points. He's a six-time 30-goal scorer, reaching that mark in five consecutive seasons. Additionally, Larkin is a power-play specialist, with at least 13 power-play goals in each of the past four seasons.
As mentioned, Larkin has spent his entire career in Detroit and has skated in only five playoff games, which occurred in 2016. He recently participated in the 4 Nations and won an Olympic gold medal in early 2026. Larkin is also a three-time NHL All-Star.
Last season, the Panthers had the NHL's 19th-ranked power-play at 19.5% while compiling the league's 18th-best goals-per-game average at 3.00. Adding a 30-goal scorer, who can also produce in double digits on special teams, would significantly boost Florida's chances of a bounce-back campaign and a return to a spot all too familiar to the fans, the Stanley Cup Final.
Add us as a preferred source on Google