Free Agent Frenzy is just under one month away and TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest news and rumours as the NHL off-season heats up.
Larkin ready for a change
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is ready for a change after 11 seasons with the team.
The stunning news left the hockey world shocked Thursday, with Larkin immediately becoming the biggest name potentially available on the trade market.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan writes “that issues between Larkin and Detroit management have been brewing a while, dating back at least to testy contract negotiations in 2023.” Larkin would eventually sign the eight-year, $69.6 million contract that he is currently entering the fourth year of, carrying an annual cap hit of $8.7 million. The deal includes a full no-move clause.
Larkin is also believed to have grown frustrated with the Red Wings’ futility, having going 10 straight years with a trip to the playoffs.
Last spring, he publicly expressed his disappointment in the fact the Red Wings elected to stand pat at the trade deadline, rather than trying to boost the team’s lineup for a playoff push.
“It was hard that we didn’t do anything, and then I felt the group kind of, we didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline and guys were kind of down about it,” Larkin said at the time. “It’d be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice, and maybe a morale boost as well.”
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman did add defenceman Justin Faulk and forwards David Perron, but the team slumped down the stretch, going 8-12-4 after the Olympic break, as their playoff drought was extended to another year.
The 29-year-old centre registered 34 goals and 67 points in 74 games this past season with the Red Wings. He also helped the United States claim gold at the Olympics in February, posting two goals and one assist in six games.
While there will be no shortage of suitors for Larkin, it is unclear as of yet who the front-runners are.
Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic wrote Thursday that he believes the New York Rangers will be interested in Larkin, but wonders whether Larkin would be open to joining a club that just finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Mercogliano also believes that Larkin’s trade request also has immediate impact on the trade market for Vincent Trocheck, who the Rangers have been listening on. He notes Larkin is three years younger and offers more offensive upside, which suitors looking for a centre will prioritize.
If Larkin were to be interested in heading to Broadway, Mercogliano wonders whether Trocheck and a first-round pick could be enough to meet Detroit’s asking price in a trade and point to Alexis Lafreniere as another potential asset that could be offered.
While the Stanley Cup Final continues, Larkin’s trade request has truly sparked the off-season news cycle.
He joins Trocheck, New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal and Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly as some of the biggest names believed to be available on the trade market.
