231112 Dylan Larkin of Detroit Red Wings during a practice session with Detroit Red Wings on November 12, 2023 in Stockholm. Photo: Jesper Zerman / BILDBYRAN / kod JZ / JZ0447 / SWEDEN AND NORWAY ONLY - NO SYNDICATION ishockey Ice hockey, Eishockey NHL, Eishockey Herren, USA national hockey league träning practice detroit red wings global series stockholm *** 231112 Dylan Larkin of Detroit Red Wings during a practice session with Detroit Red Wings on November 12, 2023 in Stockholm Photo Jesper Zerman BILDBYRAN code JZ JZ0447 SWEDEN AND NORWAY ONLY NO SYNDICATION ishockey ice hockey nhl national hockey league träning practice detroit red wings global series stockholm PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxAUT Copyright: JESPERxZERMAN BB231112JZ039
231112 Dylan Larkin of Detroit Red Wings during a practice session with Detroit Red Wings on November 12, 2023 in Stockholm. Photo: Jesper Zerman / BILDBYRAN / kod JZ / JZ0447 / SWEDEN AND NORWAY ONLY - NO SYNDICATION ishockey Ice hockey, Eishockey NHL, Eishockey Herren, USA national hockey league träning practice detroit red wings global series stockholm *** 231112 Dylan Larkin of Detroit Red Wings during a practice session with Detroit Red Wings on November 12, 2023 in Stockholm Photo Jesper Zerman BILDBYRAN code JZ JZ0447 SWEDEN AND NORWAY ONLY NO SYNDICATION ishockey ice hockey nhl national hockey league träning practice detroit red wings global series stockholm PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxAUT Copyright: JESPERxZERMAN BB231112JZ039
Almost the end of July, September’s training camp nears, and the Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is still in the Motor City. And NHL insider Chris Johnson doesn’t see a change coming up.
“Detroit has just not found anything close to what it's gonna take from the places he's willing to go to make the deal,” The Athletic’s senior writer said on his The Chris Johnston Show podcast this month. “It's a little bit of a standoff.”
The captain’s trade request came up at the beginning of the offseason, and his shortlist included just the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers. But the problem is that none of these teams can give Detroit a piece that’ll be worth letting Larkin go for.
What Detroit demands is NHL-ready assets rather than prospects. The Panthers, Wild and Golden Knights all seemed to have finalized their cores. Moreover, all three teams lack the salary-cap space to absorb Larkin's $8.7M AAV. So, even if a trade does happen, it can't be within Larkin's shortlist.
“If a trade happens, I think it’s likely to be a destination that isn’t currently on his list,” he added to the same segment. It’ll depend on “how badly he wants to go and how open-minded he’s willing to be.”
For now, the Red Wings don’t seem to be in the position to deal with the “headache, the storyline, or the distraction” of the Larkin trade.
But then, what are the chances that the captain chooses against the trade?
Can Dylan Larkin Reverse Course?
Surely the whole trade scenario is in stalemate for now, even after Red Wings’ former GM Steve Yzerman’s stepdown. But can the new GM pursue the captain to change his mind? Detroit Free Press writer St. Helene James said otherwise.
“That would be a lot to walk back,” she said on TSN OverDrive last week. “I mean, it’s been going on now for two months. The organization is upset with him for asking for a trade after they’ve paid down the chunk of the actual salary, $31 million.”
“I just don’t know, even if it’s a different GM,” she added. “I mean, Steve Yzerman still works for the team. I just don’t know if Dylan Larkin can walk this back.”
So, a trade isn’t happening anytime soon, and Larkin is still adamant about leaving. At this rate, do you think we’ll see him in Detroit’s training camp in September?
Let us know in the comments.
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Written by
Deblina Roy