Dylan Larkin Holdout: Sabres Can’t Crack Detroit’s Captain

The Sabres' Dylan Larkin Problem Isn't the Assets.

That sentence sums up the entire standoff between Buffalo and the Detroit Red Wings captain.

Dylan Larkin has been suspended without pay by the Red Wings since Oct. 29, 2026, when he told the team he no longer wanted to be part of the organization.

He gave Detroit a list of 10 teams he would accept a trade to.

The Buffalo Sabres are not on that list.

Larkin's camp, led by agent Pat Brisson, has told the Red Wings no again in recent days, according to TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun.

Buffalo is one of the teams sitting off that list, along with Montreal, Boston and Los Angeles.

The Sabres made a "pretty big offer at one point" for Larkin, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.

But Larkin refused to waive his no-move clause to go to Buffalo.

The offer was never formally presented to Detroit because Larkin's camp blocked it before it got that far.

Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, who covers the Sabres, took a fan mailbag question Wednesday about whether Buffalo could get into the Larkin market at all.

"But the Sabres are not on his expanded 10-team trade list," Fairburn wrote.

"How much will that list have to expand before Buffalo ends up on it?"

"Are the Sabres even a more attractive option than simply staying in Detroit?"

Fairburn pointed out that Buffalo ended its playoff drought, but that's still just one year.

"I wonder if the Sabres would get on the list if it got to 15 teams?" he wrote.

"Would it take 20?"

"And how much more would the Sabres have to pay for the Red Wings to be compelled to move him within the division?"

"All of those questions make me hesitant to get people too excited about the idea," Fairburn wrote.

"I also think the Sabres should be wary about adding a player who essentially needs to be begged to come to Buffalo."

"You don't want to be someone's 15th choice when you're giving up the assets required to get a player like Larkin."

Fairburn's question about how far the list would have to stretch already has an answer, and it is not an encouraging one for Buffalo.

Larkin started with three teams and expanded to 10: the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Mammoth, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche.

Buffalo is not among them.

Montreal is not among them.

Boston is not among them.

Los Angeles is not among them.

The Sabres have plenty of assets to put together a solid offer.

They have first-round picks in each of the next three years.

They have young centers like Zach Benson, Konsta Helenius and Noah Östlund.

They have a potential top-six center option in Josh Norris.

They have notable prospects like forward Ilia Morozov and defenseman Radim Mrtka.

Detroit is reportedly willing to accept an offer from Buffalo, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The only caveat is that Larkin won't waive his no-move clause.

On Tuesday, Dreger reported on Insider Trading that the Red Wings have yet to receive an offer from a team on Larkin's trade list that they could take to the 30-year-old and say, "this is a deal we can make."

Instead, Detroit has reportedly received an offer from an undisclosed team that is not on Larkin's list, one that interim GM Shawn Horcoff is reportedly willing to accept, according to Dreger.

Larkin's camp still believes better offers are out there from teams on his initial ten-team list.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast that some teams are pushing hard to get onto Larkin's trade list, citing the Sabres as one of them.

Larkin will need some convincing, but Buffalo appears to be one of the teams on the outside looking to make a massive push to get in.

The Sabres made a strong push for Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck before he was dealt to New Jersey, and they may view Larkin as their next top target.

If Larkin were to expand his list to include Buffalo, a deal might already be done.

With the Sabres not making the cut so far, Horcoff still appears to have his work cut out for him in getting a trade done.

The Larkin file has been dragging for months.

Minnesota has been aggressively pursuing the Detroit captain, and nothing has gotten across the line.

Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco reports the Flyers could broker a three-team Dylan Larkin deal between the Red Wings and the Wild.

The catch is that Larkin doesn't have Philadelphia on his 10-team trade list either.

According to Di Marco, Flyers GM Daniel Brière has accepted that Larkin isn't coming, but he's willing to act as a facilitator anyway.

Philadelphia would reportedly absorb Wild forward Yakov Trenin, whose cap hit is $3.5 million, as long as the return makes sense for the Flyers.

Trenin has 17 games played this season with two assists and no goals.

The idea is that every team gets closer to what it wants.

Minnesota lands the top-line center, and Detroit pulls assets from two clubs instead of one.

For Philadelphia, the reported interest goes past taking on salary.

Sources close to the team say the Flyers would be open to a deal centred around Wild center prospect Charlie Stramel and a future first-round pick, in exchange for Owen Tippett.

Stramel was the 21st pick in the 2023 draft and hasn't played an NHL game this season.

Tippett has one goal and one assist through 11 games.

The Red Wings, meanwhile, would reportedly receive an impact NHL player among the pieces coming back for Larkin.

He has 6 points in 10 games this season, and he's 30.

On the Flyers' side, this is the smart play.

They sit 30th in the NHL at 4-9-4 with a goal differential of -21, and a club in that spot should be collecting young players and picks, not holding a sniper who has one goal.

Montreal hasn't gone away either.