97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield engages in a thought experiment today, discussing four possible destinations for Dylan Larkin in detail.
Burchfield suggests that the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes could all be places where Larkin would “fit” as a tradeable asset.
I would argue that Will, who I admire greatly, is reaching a bit in terms of returns for Larkin, but here’s his take on the Canes’ potential return:
The Hurricanes haven’t been afraid to swing big under GM Eric Tulsky. Could the Stanley Cup champs take a hack at Larkin? Would they offer up either Logan Stankoven or Seth Jarvis?
Jarvis, 24, has three straight 30-goal seasons, the ability to play center and a cap hit of just $7.4 million for the next six seasons. In other words: already a more valuable asset than Larkin. So, no.
Stankoven, 23, is the more realistic target. Carolina views him as a central piece behind Sebastian Aho, having locked him up for eight years at $6 million annually, but this would be a fair ask on the part of Yzerman. Stankoven is still in the 2C category, and might not have the size to ever be more than that. He had 21 goals and 44 points last season, with more production coming.
What about burly 25-year-old winger Andrei Svechnikov, who’s coming off a bounceback season where he scored 31 goals? Svechnikov, who’s signed for three more seasons at $7.75 million year, would bring a lot of the elements Detroit is missing. And how bout 24-year-old, 6’3, left-shot defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who garnered Rookie of the Year votes last season?
Yzerman would also likely inquire about Carolina’s top prospect Bradley Nadeau, a late first-round pick in 2023 who saw some action in the NHL last season. He’s a talented goal-scoring winger who, in time, could help fill out Detroit’s top six.
The obvious question here: Why would Carolina mess with a core that just won it all? Sure, Larkin would represent an upgrade at center and give the Hurricanes a terrific one-two punch with Aho. And his skating would absolutely mesh with Rod Brind’Amour’s go-go-go system. But the Hurricanes don’t need upgrades. And they don’t need Larkin. Just don’t sleep on Tulsky.
Continued at extended length…
