Red Wings and Wild trade talks involving Dylan Larkin are heating up, per Frank Seravalli

The Minnesota Wild have been circling Dylan Larkin since the summer, and the Red Wings just gave them another reason to keep dialing.

Frank Seravalli reported Friday on Frankly Hockey that Detroit's assistant GM went to watch the Wild in person.

That's a front office doing homework on the other side of a potential deal. Minnesota also drew a second notable observer at their game in Tampa.

The timing stings. Detroit dropped a 6-3 decision to Seattle on Friday night and sit 1-3-0, every game of it played at home.

John Gibson got the hook after five goals on 15 shots. Daniil Tarasov mopped up the rest.

Seattle hung six on a team that had allowed eight through their first three games combined.

Larkin carried the heaviest load up front. He logged 18:19, more than any other Detroit forward, and walked out a -1.

Bill Guerin's cap math puts a hard ceiling on Minnesota

The Detroit forward has dressed for only two of four games, with a goal and an assist to show for it.

Larkin carries an $8,700,000 cap hit. Any deal has to fit next to Kirill Kaprizov, who already eats $17,000,000 of Minnesota's space.

So why would Bill Guerin keep chasing? Because the Wild aren't finishing enough to support goaltending this good.

Jesper Wallstedt sits at a .927 save percentage, yet Minnesota have still dropped two straight heading into tonight's game in Florida.

Quinn Hughes leads the team with 6 points from the blue line. Matthew Boldy, at $7,000,000, hasn't registered one.

Detroit should hang up the phone. Selling now is like listing your house because the first week of renovations went sideways.

There are pieces working. Alex DeBrincat has 5 points, and Viktor Arvidsson already owns 3 power-play goals.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard chipped in a goal and an assist against Seattle. That's the kind of night Detroit needs more of from its young forwards.

The leak is in their own end. The Red Wings are allowing 3.5 goals a game, and Gibson's .862 save percentage is a big reason why.

Todd McLellan takes his team into Montreal tonight for their first road game of the season, with his front office already scouting another club's roster.

The Red Wings and Wild don't meet until January 17. Whether Larkin is still in red that night just became a real question.

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