Dylan Larkin Opens Door to Avalanche Trade With One Major Complication
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The saga around Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings continues. While the rivalry between the Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche has fizzled, Larkin could bring the teams together.
Apparently, Larkin wouldn’t mind putting on an Avalanche sweater. Of course, he wouldn’t. They are a strong Stanley Cup contender team.
Whether or not the Avalanche would have the same level of interest is a considerably more complicated question.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Friday on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast that Larkin is willing to accept a trade from a much longer list than previously believed. Colorado is one of those teams.
"I think some of the other teams that are there are Colorado, Washington and, I suspect, in case people didn't know them already, Dallas and Tampa," Friedman said.
Friedman believes Larkin’s list could be as long as eight teams.
This certainly doesn’t mean that Colorado is pursuing Larkin. In all honesty, this team doesn’t need another center.
What it does mean - Larkin would be willing to come if Colorado wanted him.
But would Joe Sakic have any reason to make that happen?
Larkin Would Make Avalanche Even More Dangerous
There isn’t a lot of question about what Larkin could provide to the Avalanche.
He’s 30 years old and he scored a career-high 34 goals last season. He finished with 67 points over 74 games as a top-six center with speed, offensive ability and significant NHL experience.
Then, he requested a trade from the only team he’s ever played for, the Detroit Red Wings. It’s only speculation, but it likely came as a bit of a surprise, as he is under contract through the 2030-31 season with the Red Wings and has a no-trade clause.
Things change.
On talent alone, Sakic would be remiss not to at least take a look. The problem, and it would be complicated, is where exactly Larkin fits.
Avalanche Oozing With Centers
There may be some weaknesses in the roster, but the middle is not exactly it.
Nathan MacKinnon remains one of the very best in hockey. Nazem Kadri returned at the trade deadline last season and Brock Nelson put up great numbers last season with 33 goals.
Looking further, Nicolas Roy and Fedor Svechkov exist. Adding Larkin would give Jared Bednar an absurd collection of centers, but it would also create a roster logjam.
Roy offers the flexibility of moving to wing, and the Avalanche could do the same with another. But the numbers don’t make a lot of sense. Trying to squeeze an $8.7 million player into the roster just to have another talented center doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Should Colorado entertain something like this, it would be much more complicated.
Making the Money Work
Things get extremely complicated when you start looking at the money side. Larkin is just four years into an eight-year contract that carries an $8.7 annual cap hit, where he is signed through 2030-31.
Colorado doesn’t have anything near $8.7 million to spend.
That means there would have to be a significant salary dump or Detroit would have to retain money.
Retention could be difficult given that Larkin has five seasons remaining on the current contract.
Then there’s the acquisition cost. It’s no wonder Detroit is dragging its feet. They have very little reason to give up their No. 1 center just because he requested a trade.
When looking at this from the Red Wings view, Colorado doesn’t have premium draft capital or a plethera of elite prospects that it can comfortably move.
Larkin Could Make Sense to Avalanche
There is a very simple reason Sakic might entertain this idea: age.
The Colorado core is getting older.
Nelson turns 35 this season. Kadri will turn 36 in October. Yes, they are both very valuable to this team, but neither one is a long-term answer for the middle.
Larkin is 30 and signed for five more seasons.
Looking at it through those lenses, it could give a potential trade possibility.
Now for reality. Making a Larkin trade won’t be easy. It wouldn’t necessarily be about adding yet another center. It could be part of an attempt to extend the Avalanche’s championship window yet again.
The team would be getting younger around MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas. That’s something Sakic has already started to do in other parts of the roster.
Avalanche Don’t Need Larkin, But Sakic Should Listen
Here’s the most important part of all of this discussion: Larkin is willing to come to Colorado but that by no means indicates the Avs are trying to acquire him.
This is all just a bunch of speculation of what could or could not happen.
Colorado doesn’t need Larkin. They aren’t a team in desperate need of a No. 1 or No. 2 center. Sakic can afford to be very selective and even standoffish.
If Detroit’s asking price is out of this world (and it likely will be), the next obstacle is the salary cap. Colorado can simply walk away.
The reality is that the opportunity to acquire a 30-year-old center who scored 30 goals in three of the past five seasons doesn’t present itself often.
The word is that Larkin opened the door, whether or not Sakic has any interest in walking through it is a much more interesting question.
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Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NHL, NCAA and WNBA. Laura covers the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Avalanche and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com