NHL Rumor Mill – August 4, 2026
Check out the latest on Red Wings center Dylan Larkin and Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Kevin Allen noted that Kalshi’s hockey prediction betting board numbers have 75 percent anticipating that Dylan Larkin will remain with the Detroit Red Wings for the coming season.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin (NHL Images).
Larkin, 30, requested a trade this spring. He initially listed the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, and Florida Panthers as preferred trade destinations. Larkin reportedly expanded the list to include the Dallas Stars, but the Detroit Free Press disputed this.
Of those who believe Larkin will be traded, 72 percent believe he’ll be headed to the Wild. However, Allen noted that the Red Wings and Wild have failed to find common ground in trade discussions. He indicated that the Red Wings aren’t enamored with the younger players the Wild are willing to part with, plus they want at least one proven player as part of the return.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Red Wings reportedly sought Matt Boldy in return, but the Wild aren’t parting with one of their best players to get Larkin.
Larkin may get traded to the Wild once a replacement is found for Steve Yzerman, who is leaving the general manager role to become a senior advisor to team owner Chris Ilitch. The next Wings GM could opt for a quick rebuild with the young assets from the Wild, or flip those assets to another club for an established player.
However, if the new GM takes the same hardline stance as Yzerman, the Red Wings could still have Larkin in their lineup when this season opens in late September.
The Wild are also short on salary-cap space. That means they’ll have to move out a contract or two to clear room for Larkin’s $8.7 million average annual value, or the Red Wings would have to retain a portion of his AAV.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It would take a significant sweetener (like an established top-six forward, preferably a center) to convince the Wings to retain any part of Larkin’s salary.
DAILY FACEOFF’s Anthony Di Marco reports sources say the Calgary Flames had previously shown an interest in Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj.
However, the Flames no longer see Xhekaj as a fit after acquiring defenseman Jake Middleton from the Minnesota Wild.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames landed Middleton on July 2 as part of the trade that sent Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta to the Wild.
Di Marco was referencing a recent report by Herb Zurkowsky of The Montreal Gazette that cited rumors linking Xhekaj to the Flames and the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this summer.
As for the Flyers, Jonathan Bailey of The Hockey News recently cast doubt on that speculation, noting they already have enough toughness on their blueline with Simon Benoit and Nick Seeler.
I have said it a few times when you play Florida next year you are going
to wish for 3-or 4 Xhekaj’s
Larkin is already discounted cap wise and no way Detroit is holding money.
Unless they hire a GM pretty darn quick especially if external or the Larkin issue hits camp
With Boldy out of the equation, unless Guerin is prepared to relinquish 2 roster players who would satisfy Detroit ‘s needs, Larkin isn’t headed to Minnesota any time soon.
Simple math says so.
As matters now stand, Guerin has – with a full 23-man roster ready to go (14F 7D 2G) – just $1,152,501 in cap reserve. Larkin’s cap hit is $8,70,000, which means he’d have to relinquish players whose combined cap hits exceed the difference of $7,547,499 to avoid being considerably over the cap.
And if you look at the Wild roster, among the Fs with no form of NMC/MNTC are (aside from Boldy) the likes of Bobby Brink, Nico Sturm, Maxim Shabanov, Nick Foligno and Justin Kirkland. Among the D, on the other hand, players without such movement protection include Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes, neither of whom is being moved to make way for Larkin.