The New Jersey Devils pulled off a blockbuster trade on Friday when they acquired Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets. The deal saw New Jersey send Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Nick Bjugstad, and Alexander Command, as well as a seventh-round pick in the 2027 draft and a 2029 second-round pick as the return.
Now that GM Sunny Mehta finalized this deal, the attention turns to who could be next. Many think that it would be Quinn Hughes, and that makes a lot of sense. However, there is someone else who makes a ton of sense for them to acquire first, and that is Dylan Larkin from the Detroit Red Wings.
Mehta has to set sights on Larkin next
It makes sense why everyone wants Hughes; his two brothers, Jack and Luke Hughes, already play for the club. Plus, they've been open about how much they want to play together, so it seems like only a matter of time until that happens.
However, Larkin makes the most sense at this time. He already wants out of the Red Wings' organization, and based on how much the asking price dropped for Hellebuyck, it is safe to assume the same could be said about him. If Mehta could find a way to meet Detroit's price, it would be another awesome addition to the club.
It would not only add another superstar to a lineup that is desperate to make the playoffs but also another member of the USA Olympic gold medal team. It's no secret that the players want to play together, so adding Larkin to a team that already has Hellebuyck and Jack, as well as the strong potential of adding Quinn, Larkin would be wise to accept a trade to the Devils.
Considering that they've already offered Alexander Command, who is one of their top prospects, it makes things a bit more difficult. That said, the Devils can still offer one of Amadeus Lombardi, Arseny Gristyuk or even Seamus Casey or Anton Silaev as part of the deal. If we go by where the Red Wings are in their rebuild, we can assume that Detroit may want one a forward an a defenseman as well as a pick or two.
Gristyuk is a strong candidate to be dealt because of his contract and the fact that he could slot into the top six; they can pair him with Seamus Casey and Cody Glass to make the money work. The Red Wings would be getting a top-six and a bottom-six forward with a top-six defenseman, who could jump right into the NHL for them. In terms of picks, because Larkin is still playing for the organization, they may need to part with a second-round pick in either 2027 or 2029, plus a fourth in 2028.
So, the full package could look like this:
Red Wings: Arseny Gristyuk, Cody Glass, Seamus Casey, a 2027/2029 2nd-round pick and a 2028 4th-round pick.
Devils: Dylan Larkin (25% retained)
The Devils would be moving out $6.7 million in total cash and would be taking on $6.5 million of Larkin's $8.7 million deal at 25% retained. This would allow the Devils to take on Larkin's deal and have $200,000 in available cap space. As for the Red Wings, they'd be able to move on from the drama and bring in some players to help turn around the team.
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