Dylan Larkin expanded his trade list to six teams

Dylan Larkin's trade request came with a slew of speculation and Elliotte Friedman believes that the Dallas Stars are a team who have found themselves in the mix.

When Larkin's trade request became public knowledge, that set off a firestorm of rumours and speculation about where he could end up. He has given his three preferred destinations in Florida, Vegas and Minnesota however may be open to other places if a deal can't materialize there.

That means that basically anyone is available should Larkin believe that they're worthy enough and teams like the Maple Leafs could absolutely use him in their quest to get back to being competitive.

Though, they would be one of several other NHL teams including New Jersey and Montreal who would also love to get their hands on him reportedly, so it's going to be a dogfight for his services and Detroit can squeeze them for every asset.

Dylan Larkin's trade request could open the door for the Dallas Stars to swoop in and steal him

There seems to be another couple of teams thrown into the mix, including one team who may have a little bit of difficulty affording him though if they weigh the pros and cons - it could end up working out.

Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast that he heard there were two other teams who were in the mix for Larkin which included not only the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Dallas Stars as well:

I don't want to disregard the reporting that is out there. I know there were those three teams, but I had heard there were two more which were Tampa and Dallas.

This also goes along with the report from David Pagnotta that stated both the Stars and the San Jose Sharks could be in the running for Larkin:

The way it's been described to me is those are his preferred destinations, but I think he's open to more than that. I've heard Dallas, I've heard San Jose. I've heard a couple other teams.

It seems that while Larkin does indeed want to go play with his friends scattered throughout the NHL, he is open to other destinations and Dallas would offer a great place to contend.

Toronto doesn't appear on the list though that doesn't mean Larkin wouldn't entertain an option, it just isn't his preferred choice.

Dallas can't afford Dylan Larkin unless they made a couple difficult decisions

The only issue is that they may not be able to afford him. With Jason Robertson needing a new deal, that won't leave a lot of room, then you also have other names like Mavrik Bourque, Jamie Benn, Michael Bunting, and Arttu Hyry all needing deals as RFA's or UFA's.

Larkin makes $8.7-million until 2031, so you're going to be giving him a lot of money for a long time. Though it's very possible Dallas sends Robertson's rights to Detroit for Larkin, or puts a package together that clears up space; that's still a lot of money committed to both him and Mikko Rantanen.

Larkin wants to be competitive and you can't be upset with him for that, and while he may have irked teams and fans with his preferred destinations, it's more on Steve Yzerman for giving him all the power.

Losing Robertson means you lose a lot of the heart and soul of your team just to appease Larkin, and it doesn't make a ton of sense. Currently, the Stars have Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz, Matt Duchene, Sam Steel, Tyler Seguin who can all play centre and who are all locked up for next year.

There's a logjam that Dallas can't really open up room for unless they gut their pivots just to open up a spot, but you're losing some seriously good players - Hintz is just as good offensively, a better defender, and the same age and cheaper.

So Jim Nill and Dallas need to make a choice. Do they give up the chance to re-sign Robertson, and risk losing a few of their household names for the chance at Larkin? Or do they play things differently and let other teams handicap themselves and then pounce when they're weak?

Only time will tell, and while Larkin is indeed a star in the NHL, he likely won't be a Star this season.

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