Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin will not play Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports trade talks have escalated on Larkin, but he cautions that does not necessarily mean a trade is imminent.
LeBrun pointed to the Minnesota Wild as one team who has been pushing hard to Larkin on Early Trading. He added the Washington Capitals do not appear to be a fit and that the Florida Panthers have not been making offers to the Red Wings and appear out of the sweepstakes.
Head coach Todd McLellan said interim general manager Shawn Horcoff will address the situation without going into details on why Larkin would be out Thursday, Max Bultman of The Athletic relayed.
Larkin missed practice for a maintenance day on Wednesday. He has two goals and six points in 10 games this season and logged a 23:16 of ice time against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, scoring in the team’s shootout win.
The 30-year-old centre requested a trade from the Red Wings over the summer, initially submitting just a three-team list of clubs he would accept a trade to. He was stripped of the captaincy ahead of training camp.
LeBrun confirmed a report from Detroit Free Press last week that Larkin hade expanded his list to the Panthers, Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Utah Mammoth, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils or Colorado Avalanche.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said Tuesday on Insider Trading the Red Wings continue to do their due diligence on teams on and off of Larkin’s now 10-team trade list, including the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.
“Yeah, go down the list of all the teams that have been speculated who want Dylan Larkin who aren’t on his trade list. That would include the likes of the Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins, maybe Nashville. What about Buffalo? What about St. Louis? I mean, the list of teams interested in Dylan Larkin but not on his trade list, is probably longer than the list that he’s willing to go to,” Dreger said.
“But the Detroit Red Wings have to do their due diligence, and so their pro scouting people are continuing to monitor teams that maybe could get in play. And that includes the St. Louis Blues and the Montreal Canadiens.”
Larkin is in the fourth season of an eight-year, $69.6 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $8.7 million.
More details to follow.