The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman examines several unresolved situations of importance in her “Offseason Concern-O-Meter,” and she includes the Dylan Larkin situation on her list:
The Larkin stalemate in Detroit
Concern-o-meter: 8/10
On the one hand, there is no reason to rush into a Dylan Larkin trade. While he has control with a no-trade clause that will hamstring a return, it doesn’t benefit Detroit to move him for pennies on the dollar, either. This isn’t the same as the Panthers landing Brad Marchand or Claude Giroux for next to nothing a few months before their contracts expired. Larkin still has another five years on his deal.
On the other hand, the longer this situation drags out, the tougher it will be to reset for this next era. It lingers over everything the Red Wings do this summer — from the draft to the trade frenzy to free agency, and beyond. Detroit can’t really start building up its supporting cast without knowing what types of needle movers Larkin can bring back. Sure, the Viktor Arvidsson signing was savvy, but this team hasn’t done much else so far this summer, leaving everything else feeling unsettled and uncertain.
I would argue that the Wings appear to at least be starting a culture change thanks to the Keegan Kolesar trade, but that’s just me…
But I do think that Patrick Kane is in a holding pattern because he’s waiting to see what happens with Larkin (among other things)…
So as long as the Larkin situation is unresolved, the Red Wings are stuck in limbo. It all depends on what this team can get back for one of its most valuable players. What challenges the situation even more is that Detroit views Larkin as a first-line center, while most contenders are likely looking at him as more of a 2C in their respective lineups.
The Jets are in a similar standstill with Connor Hellebuyck. The difference here is that there’s obviously a little more pressure on a team that’s been outside of the playoff picture for so long, with other division teams passing it by.
Continued (paywall); I do agree with Goldman regarding the sticky situation that is Larkin’s valuation here, but, at this point, Detroit has every right to ask for a commensurate return to a #1 center because there just aren’t any free agents comparable to Larkin on the open market…
All of that being said, my “concern-o-meter” is a 10 out of 10 here. The Red Wings’ offseason is in limbo, limbo, limbo until the Wings can receive a return for their disgruntled captain.
As I’ve suggested, Detroit’s not going to end up with the best player in a trade, so the Wings have to “lose with dignity” here…
But if this gets drawn out into the fall, that sucks, but I would argue that the Wings have to hold out until they receive a good return for Larkin (though I wouldn’t let him within 500 feet of the Red Wings’ locker room).
This is a franchise-defining moment for the team and GM SY as far as I’m concerned, and getting the trade over with for the sake of getting the trade over with is just a horrible idea for a franchise whose rebuild will be partially defined by what the organization receives in return for Larkin.
