With Dylan Larkin announcing on June 4th that he is formally requesting a trade from the Detroit Red Wings, the Nashville Predators have an opportunity to make waves during this year’s offseason by making a splash in acquiring a potential first-line center of the future.
In a recent piece, Ryan O’Reilly’s tenure was examined, and the need for preparations for an inevitable reset of the center corps was highlighted. Acquiring a 29-year-old Dylan Larkin would provide the Nashville Predators with a competitive resource while they begin to acquire younger prospects to beef up their center prospect pool: time.
Profile and Recent Numbers
Dylan Larkin is a prototypical centerman who has been carrying the weight of first-line center responsibilities for the Detroit Red Wings and the captaincy since 2021. As a result, it can be reasonably justified that Larkin carries unique leadership qualities from a young age and can make an immediate impact in any locker room that he may find himself in.
Larkin’s first best season was in the 2018-2019 season, where he scored 32 goals and 41 assists for 73 points in 76 games. Following two years of limited goal-scoring production, Larkin has been on a consistent 30-goal or more pace since the 2022-2023 season. As a result, Larkin’s production underscores his scoring ability on a team where he has been tasked with carrying the full burden of a top-line center, having to shoulder its responsibilities at both ends of the ice.
His underlying numbers, such as his faceoff win percentage, also contribute to his worth as a top-line center. Larkin has maintained a steady faceoff percentage of 52.7% in his 11 years in the NHL, which illustrates his capacity to dominate on the faceoff circle. An effective center on the faceoff dot is a clear and valuable commodity in today’s NHL, a commodity that many teams are desperate to acquire for their own teams.
Larkin’s production statistics display his profile as an effective centerman and a prolific goalscorer, a lethal combination that any team would want in a top-six center. With Nashville desperately needing a leader from the face-off dot to elevate their goal-scoring, Larkin clearly has the numbers to back up his potential fit, but how could Nashville proceed in acquiring his services?
The Question of Acquisition
What might dazzle fans is that it might not take too much to acquire such a talented player. Larkin has made his desire to leave the Motor City quite public, especially when a three-team wishlist for him to be traded to was released as well. Those three teams included the likes of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Minnesota Wild, and the Florida Panthers. But with Florida recently using their draft capital to reunite the Tkachuk brothers in Sunrise, Larkin may need to expand his wishlist of destinations.
Nashville could make an appealing case for Dylan Larkin due to the mechanics of its roster that Detroit currently lacks. While John Gibson was certainly an upgrade from the goalie carousel that Larkin is predominantly used to, a Vezina-caliber goalie in Juuse Saros is quite the upgrade. Moritz Seider is a blossoming two-way defenseman that has quickly risen to become a prominent face of the Red Wings' franchise, however, Roman Josi is already an established Norris winner and a legend of the league. Of course, while Lucas Raymond and Alex Debrincat are excellent linemates for a centerman like Dylan Larkin, it could be argued that playing alongside dominant and experienced wingers in Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg could potentially elevate Larkin’s game alongside his linemates.
Getting Larkin to Nashville could be a lot less complicated than fans anticipate. The Predators currently hold a plethora of draft capital that Detroit could use to expedite a potential rebuild. A potential trade could be similar to Florida’s acquisition of Brady Tkachuk, in which only draft picks are exchanged, such as the 10th overall pick and potentially the two second-rounders Nashville possesses. If not, Nashville could also offer a proven roster player such as Luke Evangelista alongside some draft compensation. While Evangelista is predominantly a winger, the new potential heir to Detroit's first-line center role, Marco Kasper, could use some youthful linemates while he is being groomed to assume that role down the line.
The Fit & Final Thoughts
Acquiring a player like Dylan Larkin would propel Nashville's contention aspirations to new heights. Finally assembling that first-line center would make fans fawn over the idea of Larkin playing next to stars and legends such as Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg, reinforced by a younger forward corps.
With Juuse Saros still in his prime and Roman Josi continuing to contribute remarkable productive numbers, the injection of a legitimate first-line center would almost complete Nashville’s lineup. The emphasis on "almost" is due to the roster still needing some depth in the middle six and potentially a successor or partner for Roman Josi. However, a top-six center duo of Larkin and O'Reilly provided a sense of stability that would be the envy of teams across the league.
Nevertheless, should Larkin force a trade to Music City, the Nashville Predators would have a bright new perspective on the future of the franchise. With Ryan O’Reilly given a chance to lead the middle six and Larkin leading the top line, the franchise would not only have a potentailly renewed championship window but also a window of opportunity to reexamine their centerman prospect pipeline. In other words, Larkin not only serves as the prototypical first-line center but also as a placeholder while Nashville searches for a younger and more long-term solution to center their top six.
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