The Minnesota Wild host the New York Islanders tonight at 7 p.m. CDT, sitting first in the Central Division at 9-3-2 (20 points). Down the road in the standings, the Detroit Red Wings host Chicago at 6:30 p.m. CDT at 5-4-3, last in the Atlantic Division, and without Dylan Larkin.

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan told reporters Thursday morning that Dylan Larkin will not play tonight, and that interim general manager Shawn Horcoff will address the situation.

Larkin asked for a trade at the start of the offseason, and the Wild have been the team most closely tied to him since. Just over a week ago, Michael Russo said he expected a deal soon. Now it sounds like Larkin has played his last game in Detroit.

Dylan Larkin to sit until Red Wings trade him

According to Frank Seravalli (Sportsnet), the plan is for Larkin to sit out for asset protection until a trade is completed. Seravalli added that it sounds like Larkin’s camp has applied pressure.

Sitting him keeps Detroit from risking an injury that could drop his trade value before a deal is done. Larkin has played 818 career games, all with the Red Wings, since they drafted him 15th overall in 2014.

Larkin, 30, has two goals and four assists in 10 games this season. He has scored on just two of his 32 shots (6.3%), well below his career rate of 11.4%. Last season, he scored 34 goals and 67 points in 74 games. That made five straight seasons with at least 30 goals.

Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic) is hearing that trade talks have escalated. He also cautioned that it doesn’t necessarily mean a trade happens right away, and that things can still go a few different directions.

Around noon, Darren Dreger (TSN) reported that Larkin’s camp feels trades with teams on his 10-team list “have been close and could have been finalized.” He added that Detroit doesn’t appear interested in a futures-driven return and wants “a decent player or two” back.

Report: MN Wild may have best offer for Larkin

According to Emily Kaplan (ESPN), the Minnesota Wild may have the strongest offer at this point, and the Red Wings are seeing whether another team can top what general manager Bill Guerin has offered.

Last week, Chris Johnston (The Athletic) also said on The Nielson Show that there’s “still a feeling” Larkin ends up in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Wild are one of 10 teams on Larkin’s approved trade list, all based in the United States. The MN Wild were also on his original three-team list before he expanded it. Red Wings executives have also scouted multiple MN Wild games this month.