This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James addresses where the Red Wings find themselves in terms of Dylan Larkin’s trade demands, suggesting that the dispute between disgruntled player and team will stretch past the start of unrestricted free agency today and into the rest of the summer:
The Wings would like a top-six center and a winger in return for Larkin. That may sound like a high price, but it’s their right to play hardball. They have little depth down the middle, and losing Larkin without getting a center in return would weaken the roster and hamper attempts to end what’s now a 10-year playoff drought – the longest active run in the league. The Wings already were looking to add a scoring winger, and, for that matter, strengthen the second-line center spot, before the Larkin situation unfolded.
None of Larkin’s desired destination teams have made an offer acceptable to the Wings. The Panthers may not even be in play anymore after acquiring forward Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa on June 21, not to mention goalie Jacob Markstrom in a deal with New Jersey on Tuesday.
As much as Larkin holds power via his no-trade clause, the Wings hold power in not being obligated to trade him. It wouldn’t be an ideal situation for Larkin to have to report to training camp in in September – the expectation, for starters, would be that he turn in his captaincy. He’d have to deal with a segment of upset fans at home games. The Wings would have to make do without a captain, as it would be unfair to the next guy – Moritz Seider fits the bill – to be named in such circumstances.
Continued; again, I expect the Red Wings to require a 3rd team to “flip” whatever future assets they receive for Larkin in order to acquire “right now” help;
I might also suggest that the Wings pursue a trade for disgruntled Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson as well.
