The Carolina Hurricanes remain one of the top betting favorites to acquire suspended Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin in a potential three-player trade that would send two current roster forwards and a prospect the other way.
Larkin has been held out of the lineup without pay after informing the Red Wings he will no longer play for the club while awaiting a trade. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff announced the suspension after the 30-year-old missed a morning skate and was scratched from a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Michigan native played 10 games this season before the holdout began, recording two goals and four assists for six points with a plus-3 rating. He carries an $8.7 million cap hit through the 2030-31 season and holds a full no-trade clause.
ProHockeyRumors.com’s Marcus Antonelli wrote about the latest on Dylan Larkin.
“For those who need a reminder, Larkin expanded his trade list to ten teams, further from the four he originally had throughout the summer. Those teams are the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, and he has since added the Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Mammoth, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and New Jersey Devils, which he’s willing to accept a relocation to.”
Betting markets list the Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals as the teams with the best odds to land Larkin, according to BetOnline.AG. Carolina sits among the short-price options given its status as a Stanley Cup contender and the presence of multiple young assets.
In one circulating trade prediction, the Hurricanes would receive Larkin in exchange for center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, forward Eric Robinson and prospect Felix Unger-Sorum. The package would give Detroit two established forwards who have played in the top nine this season plus a developing prospect who has already received NHL ice time as a rookie.
Kotkaniemi has opened the 2026-27 campaign with five goals and five assists in 17 games, good for a plus-7 rating. His production represents a sharp increase from the nine points he managed in 42 games last season, giving Carolina a chance to sell high before captain Jordan Staal returns from a calf injury and potentially pushes Kotkaniemi down the depth chart.
Robinson has contributed two goals and five assists through 18 games while averaging roughly 12 minutes of ice time. The 31-year-old depth winger signed a four-year deal with Carolina after posting 32 points in 82 games during the 2024-25 season.
Unger-Sorum, selected 62nd overall in 2023, posted 66 points in 72 AHL games last year and has seen limited NHL action this season after a recall. He remains under contract and offers the Red Wings a controllable young asset with offensive upside.
The Hurricanes enter the week at 14-3-2 through 19 games with 30 points and a league-leading plus-33 goal differential. They have scored 78 goals while allowing 45, and they enter as the defending Stanley Cup champions after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games last spring.
General manager Eric Tulsky has built a roster with strong internal depth at center behind Sebastian Aho and Logan Stankoven. Adding Larkin would create a luxury rather than address a clear hole, though Staal’s ongoing absence has created temporary middle-six questions.
Any deal would require Larkin’s approval under his no-trade clause, and Detroit has indicated it prefers a return that includes more than pure draft capital. The Red Wings continue to explore options while Larkin remains unpaid and out of the lineup.
