Doubts began to hover about Dylan Larkin’s future with the Detroit Red Wings after the club again missed out on qualifying for the playoffs last season.
Reports started to gain traction that Larkin does not want to stay in Hockeytown and that he has asked for a trade out of Detroit. GM Steve Yzerman later confirmed that the reports were accurate.
Dylan Larkin also submitted a short list of teams he would be willing to go to. He is currently signed to an eight-year, $69.8 million contract and has a no-trade clause. Despite his trade request, GM Steve Yzerman recently stressed that he cannot guarantee that the trade request will be met.
“Shortly after the season, I received a phone call from Dylan Larkin’s agent, informing me that Dylan would like to be traded,” Yzerman said via NHL.com. “A week or so after that, Dylan’s agent followed up with a short list of teams that Dylan would consider waiving his no-trade (clause) to go to.
He added:
“My job as the manager of the Detroit Red Wings is always to do what is in the best interest of the Detroit Red Wings, and I will act accordingly. I cannot make any guarantees, or did not make any guarantees, that that request could or would be met.”
Yzerman also added that Larkin’s situation has created a lot of uncertainty around the Red Wings’ roster buildup heading into free agency.
NHL insider believes Dylan Larkin is prioritizing continuing to play for a US-based team
NHL insider Darren Dreger recently chimed in on Dylan Larkin’s uncertain future with the Red Wings. He believes that Larkin would prefer to play for another U.S.-based team.
“It sure sounds like Dylan Larkin…would prefer another U.S.-based team,” Dreger said on the McKenna & Starr Morning Show.
According to reports, the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, and Florida Panthers are among the interested teams Larkin would like to go to.
Notably, these were also the teams that he reportedly mentioned in his short list of preferred teams. Larkin has been the face of the franchise for a long time. However, he has only played five postseason games with them, which were during his rookie year in 2016.
Since then, he has not made the playoffs, and this is one of the major factors in Larkin asking for a trade out of Detroit. The 29-year-old has amassed 643 points through 276 goals and 367 assists in 808 career games.
Edited by Abhishek Dilta