Canadiens Face Reality Check in Dylan Larkin Pursuit

The Montreal Canadiens’ offseason plans took a hit on Monday, with Yahoo Sports reporting that their chances of landing Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin are “very low.” The Canadiens have been discussed as a natural trade target for a top-six center, but the market picture around Larkin appears to be tightening faster than Montreal’s could form a viable deal.

The backdrop is clear: Larkin has reportedly requested a trade from Detroit after the Red Wings’ 10th straight season without a playoff appearance. CBS Detroit reported the request was first described publicly by ESPN NHL insider Emily Kaplan, citing issues between Larkin and management and pointing to how the situation “came to a boil” when Detroit missed the playoffs again.

What changes the Canadiens’ calculus is not only that Larkin wants out, but how much control he may have over where he goes. Sportsnet, in a league rumour roundup published June 8, said that the three teams “believed to be on Larkin’s list” are the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights. That is where the Canadiens lose leverage, at least if the reporting is accurate and the list remains short.

Detroit’s negotiation challenge is compounded by contract realities. Sportsnet reported Larkin has a full no-trade clause baked into his contract, and that he is under contract for the next five seasons with an $8.7 million cap hit. A separate report from WTVB, based on a Detroit Free Press report, echoed that Larkin would be willing to waive his “full no-trade clause” to make a deal with the Panthers, Wild, or Golden Knights. In other words, Montreal could still be mentioned as a possibility, but the practical path runs through Detroit getting approval and a fit that aligns with Larkin’s stated preferences.

For Montreal, the need is not hypothetical. The Canadiens are trying to solve a second-line center problem that has shown up repeatedly in the postseason. The Hockey News argued that Montreal would “once again be in the market for a second-line center” after its playoff run exposed the lack of finishing and playmaking consistency from the slot behind its primary roles.

Montreal’s internal structure gives it a baseline up the middle. ESPN’s roster listing for the Canadiens identifies Nick Suzuki as a center and Kirby Dach as another center option on the roster. But with the Canadiens openly framed as needing a more dependable second-line element, a trade chase aimed at Larkin likely represented a shortcut to an impact player. The new destination restriction makes that shortcut far more expensive, or possibly unavailable, without a major deviation in the reported preference list.

What to watch next is how quickly Detroit pivots from “who wants him” to “what it takes” once realistic partners are identified. If Larkin’s list of acceptable destinations holds, Montreal will need to shift toward alternative center targets, smaller packages that still match the Canadiens’ needs, or a different roster plan entirely. The irony is that the Canadiens’ top-six center requirement has not gone away, it has just become harder to attack through one of the league’s most compelling trade names.