Jason_R

What would the Wild have to give up to get Dylan Larkin? — Jake C. Russo: This is the $8.7 million question for a stud center with five years left on his contract. The Wild don’t have a ton of attention-grabbing assets left after dealing Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick for Hughes. Obviously, Guerin wouldn’t be afraid to trade future firsts in this deal, nor young center Danila Yurov or prospects Charlie Stramel, Hunter Haight or Adam Benak. The big question is whether the Wild would have to give up quality NHLers in the deal, whether that’s one of their goalies (maybe even swapping Jesper Wallstedt for one of Detroit’s younger goalies), a defenseman like Jonas Brodin, center Joel Eriksson Ek or a versatile, gritty forward like Ryan Hartman (which Detroit needs, in my always humble opinion). https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7335940/2026/06/05/wild-trade-dylan-larkin-mailbag-red-wings/

I don’t think he goes to Vancouver either. But I would not at all be surprised if Stevie goes after EP40 independent of Larkin. He needs a credible 1C.

Lots of potential but who plays 1C?

Of course Stevie remembers when Scotty Frickin’ Bowman was kicking the tires on a trade that would have sent Stevie to his hometown for Alexei Yashin. The details are similar: The Wings, meanwhile, had begun to wonder if the 30-year-old Yzerman, despite his gaudy offensive numbers, would be able to lead them to the promised land. GM Scotty Bowman entertained the idea for a while, letting it known Yzerman was indeed available, much to Yzerman's chagrin. … It may have lit a fire under Yzerman, who played 11 more years in the NHL, becoming a more balanced player, a truly great leader, and a winner of three Stanley Cups. https://kuklaskorner.com/abel-to-yzerman/reflecting-on-the-yzerman-for-yashin-trade-talk Did Stevie remember this and buzz Larkin’s tower the way Scotty had done to him when he was the age Larkin is now?

I think this is probably right. I can also imagine that Lalonde and Blashill would have been more sympathetic to Larkin then Todd is, or maybe more willing to buffer Larkin from Steve than Todd is.

Yes, this is a good point. Or at the very least, it is easy to imagine that Stevie has had several tough conversations with Dylan going back to his complaint about the lack of activity at the trade deadline, the year before last. Also, with the speculation that there have been tensions since the last contract negotiation, it is not hard to imagine that Stevie has been having tough conversations with Dylan about his leadership for several years.

One question I have in all of this is whether Todd has a role in Larkin’s trade request. Lots of chatter that the bad blood goes back to contract negotiations but Todd has come In and held players more accountable than they were in the past.

Not by itself. Larkin should get multiple firsts and/or established player(s). But as the cornerstone, yes, and pick up Stenberg. If Larkin doesn’t get traded one-for-one (straight up for Hischier, for instance), I think the chances of an EP40 deal go way up. Without Larkin’s salary who cares if you eat Pettersson’s contract, if you can get Vancouver to toss in picks/prospects for the salary dump. Stevie needs a credible 1C, now.

I didn't say he owed fans anything. Soft your ass. The team is soft. He is the captain of a soft team that has melted down while on the hunt for the playoffs for three straight years. He whined that Stevie didn't do anything two years ago. Stevie did something last year and the team still wet the bed. Larkin is a very good (not great) player, and I understand he went to the Olympics and got a taste for winning. He learned what we all suspected, that he is better suited to be a support player than a captain. Hopefully there are a lot of teams that saw Vegas squeak in and Montreal make it to the Conference Finals and think that a guy like Larkin could put them over the hump. He is a good player on a great contract.

This may turn out to be the best thing that could have happened for Yzerman. Larkin is on a great contract for his production so should fetch a premium in picks and prospects. He is already at the edge of his prime. And something is off about the locker room culture. It might be good to put the C on Seider and clear the room of the stale air from the glory days.

Is this buying an option on a possible Rooney Rule pick?

And a first!

We should have traded Cossa for Myles Garrett.

Wow.

Here is a pessimist’s detailed take on Cossa: https://dollarstoreyzerplan.substack.com/p/why-i-am-on-the-trade-sebastian-cossa

Yes and Kris Draper has interacted with him as Seider’s agent. Seems that Lemieux never apologized. (See article below.) As I recall, after the hit, Lemieux made some crack along the lines of Draper should thank Lemieux for making him famous. Not that it was my place to forgive him, but I never did. Maybe there is another side to him that none of us will ever know. Anyway, I feel terrible for his wife and kids. RIP. https://thehockeynews.com/news/news/kris-draper-doesnt-expect-an-apology-from-claude-lemieux-two-decades-later

Gylander has played 11 games in GR. You are right that he played very well this year but we both know you are not serious that he is more ready than Cossa. I admittedly am not a goalie scout and I have not watched Cossa play. All I know is that he was good enough for Stevie to draft him 15. He was good enough to start 80 games over two seasons in the AHL. He was good enough to make the AHL all star team in both years. What else does a guy need to do in order to get an NHL start? He gets in one NHL game and wins a shootout. And that’s it? I mean, I’ve defended Stevie but the more I think about it the more I realize he has mishandled Cossa and left the platter and franchise in a bad spot. There is literally nothing else for this kid to have accomplished in the AHL.

Playing behind all of those NHL ready defensive prospects like Wallinder and Tuomisto and Lagesson? 😊

But do they have little confidence in him, and if so, are they being reasonable? Remember, as late as the all star break, Cossa was being touted as the number one prospect to watch in the AHL all star game. From the article I posted earlier in the thread: “The 2021 first-round pick is enjoying his best season as a pro and proving the patience can pay off. The Detroit Red Wings have taken the slow-and-steady approach with their 6-foot-6 goalie prospect and he’s posted a sparkling .928 save percentage while backstopping Grand Rapids to the best record in the league.” In the meantime, by the all star break Cam Talbott had accumulated a save percentage of about .885. If you are Cossa, don’t you assume you have done all you need to do in order to get a call up? Don’t you assume you could provide the NHL franchise a better option as the #2? Or at least a chance to prove it in a single start? But the call doesn’t come. I can see how it would weigh on a kid. “Don’t they believe in me? Am I doing something wrong?” Suddenly, because of the way you’ve been handled by the front office, you start to doubt yourself. I have defended Stevie in other ways but I think he has mishandled Cossa and set his development back.

I listened to Cossa’s postseason presser. It’s just what we’ve been talking about. Had a great start, let a bad game here or there get to him. He is working with a mental coach to help him stay focused. He is still growing into his frame. When asked about whether he expects to be in Detroit next season, he was at a loss. He said he wants to be there and thinks he deserves to be there but it’s out of his hands. Again, this all seems to go back to Todd coming in and saying just play F-ing hockey. I think it goes deeper than just the coaching though. Seems like Cossa doesn’t feel like he can do anything to win a job, but can only lose it. That is a hard spot to put a kid in. You have to bring him up, let him learn from Gibson and the nhl staff.

Yes, I listened to Iyer wringing his hands. For better or worse, I don’t think Stevie is wringing his hands. And maybe his nonchalant attitude toward prospects is at issue here. Certainly none of us fans or none of the press would have balked if they called Cossa up around the all star game when articles like this were being posted about him: https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/15400654-sebastian-cossa-leads-nhl-prospects-to-watch-at-2026-ahl-all-star-classic They didn’t call him up and nobody knows their reasoning for it and nobody knows how it would have ended. Maybe it would have turned out great, giving Gibson more rest down the stretch and letting Cossa get a taste of the NHL. Maybe Cossa was destined to have a late season slump no matter what and it would have been a disaster. From Cossa’s point of view, he probably feels like he is ready to compete in the NHL. He probably feels like there is not annything else he can prove in the AHL. For all we know, he has gotten halfway through the last two AHL seasons playing great hockey, expected to get called up, didn’t, and got bored. Maybe he should be blamed for his late season sloppiness, maybe Stevie should be blamed for his slow handling of Cossa, but he needs to be in the NHL next year, practicing against NHL players, getting NHL coaching and training, and getting about 25 starts.

Yeah, I don't buy into all the handwringing about Cossa. He’s played 41 and 39 games in the AHL and looked pretty good outside of losing steam. He needs to be in the NHL with NHL coaching and NHL training facilities. He needs to practice against NHL players and play 25 games with Postava coming up to spot start and Gibson dialing it back from 57 starts (second-most in his career) to 50 or just under. Gibson wore out at the end of the season too.

He is ready to be an NHL backup. Late season struggles are either energy or psychology. Does he lose the stamina or does he wilt under pressure? The guy is six and a half feet tall, so it wouldn’t surprise me if his muscles are still catching up to his bones.

Claude insists Cossa is exempt next season but Grok says he is not. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Anyway, I expect him to be part of a blockbuster trade this offseason.