Red Wings May Have Another Reason for Making Dylan Larkin Trade Difficult

Detroit’s asking price is high and that has made a Dylan Larkin trade difficult. Maybe there’s a reason?

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Detroit Red Wings have not made a Dylan Larkin trade easy.

Maybe that’s not a bad thing?

More than two months have passed since Larkin announced that he wanted a trade. Maybe it came as a shock; maybe it didn’t? Detroit is the only NHL organization he has ever known.

Training camp is approaching fast; in fact, it’s almost exactly one month away. Larkin is still a Red Wing, and as of today, it doesn’t sound like that is changing.

Sure anything can happen and a deal could be made at any point, but there are a lot of factors going into this particular situation.

The obvious explanation from the Red Wings side is that they haven’t received an offer they believe is good enough.

Fair.

Detroit reportedly wants a first-line center in return for their captain. That’s an enormous asking price for a player who also controls the trade process through his “no-trade” clause.

Larkin provided the team with a short list of acceptable destinations and, of course, that limited the options for the team and made a trade hard.

There’s also another possibility to consider.

What if Detroit is perfectly comfortable buying time?

Red Wings Have Little Reason to Rush

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Here’s the truth. Detroit doesn’t have to honor the trade request.

Larkin isn’t a pending free agent who can leave Detroit next summer for no return.

He has five seasons remaining on the eight-year contract he signed in 2023. The Red Wings have leverage to wait. They can set their asking price with no real incentive to lower it.

The situation in Detroit has changed considerably since Larkin first requested his trade.

Steve Yzerman is no longer running the Red Wings’ hockey operations. Detroit is still searching for his replacement. Larkin and Yzerman had a tension-filled relationship, and really, there’s no question that everyone in Detroit, in the front office and on the ice, has to be sick of the 10-year playoff drought. Change had to be made.

What hasn’t changed? Larkin’s request.

He hasn’t publicly rescinded his request to be traded even after the change in leadership, although it is hard to call it a change yet with no replacement.

Maybe the next general manager will be able to change his mind? Maybe that’s what the Red Wings are betting on?

Clearly, the GM search has put a damper on the Larkin trade situation. The market also hasn’t rushed Detroit. Florida and Vegas are reportedly out now, while Minnesota has been in talks but appears to be unwilling to meet the asking price.

That leaves the Red Wings with a choice, but one they aren’t forced to make.

They could lower the asking price and try to get a trade done, but they don’t have to. They could just wait.

Waiting might make considerably more sense.

Could New GM Repair the Relationship?

Steve Yzerman / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The new GM will have a lot on his plate when he steps in. This will be one of the biggest decisions facing the franchise in the immediate future.

Why wouldn’t that person sit down with Larkin and see what can be done?

There is an opportunity here for a fresh start. Maybe a new vision for the roster, new goals, a new blueprint to make the playoffs, and a direct path for how Larkin fits into all of that could change everyone’s perspective.

There’s no guarantee any conversation will change either side’s feelings. There’s also no guarantee it won’t.

Larkin is turning 30 this year, and he has only played in five playoff games during his entire career. It’s understandable that he wants more.

He helped the United States win Olympic gold in February, and that taste of success on that level might have changed his perspective. He wants a Stanley Cup. If he didn’t see that happening, or at least a path in that direction, it’s hard to blame a guy for frustration.

So, maybe he will hear everything the next GM will have to say and still want out.

The truth, though, is what does Detroit have to lose by waiting?

They could lose considerably more by forcing the trade to happen for their captain and not getting an adequate replacement. That could further delay the hiring of a new GM.

The Red Wings’ approach could simply be that they are determined not to sell low. There is no evidence that Detroit set the asking price high to prevent a deal.

Evidence or not, the result is the same. Detroit bought itself time. If another team came through and offered what they wanted, they would have been ahead, but they have no reason to rush.

With training camp approaching, Larkin is likely to remain a Red Wing. Maybe a new GM can convince him to stay. Maybe not.