Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings finally have some real movement to point to, and it's coming from the front office.
Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts on August 25 that Detroit has started interviewing candidates for its open management job.
Internal candidates reportedly went first, which usually signals a front office trying to move quickly rather than dragging a search out all fall.
That timeline matters here more than most places. Larkin still wants out, and nothing complicated gets done in Detroit without someone officially running the show.
Larkin is coming off a 67-point season, 34 goals and 33 assists in 74 games, on an $8,700,000 cap hit with real term left.
He'd reportedly prefer Minnesota, Dallas, Vegas, or Florida, but none of those four teams have put an offer on the table that satisfies Detroit.
That gap hasn't closed all summer, and it's exactly the kind of decision that's been stuck without permanent leadership in place.
Why the hire itself could shape Detroit's entire winter
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Whoever gets this job inherits a captain who's already said he wants out, and a roster that still needs a real answer at center.
Speed matters now. Training camp is close, and Larkin's situation doesn't get less awkward the longer it drags into the regular season.
An internal hire could move faster on a Larkin trade simply by already knowing the roster and the asking price Detroit has set.
An outside hire might want to reset the plan entirely before touching anything, which could stall Larkin's exit even further.
Head coach Todd McLellan is stuck in the middle of all this too, trying to build a system without knowing who he's ultimately answering to.
Either way, this is the first real sign that Detroit's front-office limbo has an actual end point in sight.
Whether that hire happens before camp opens or drags deep into the season could end up deciding where Larkin actually plays his hockey this year.
Should the Red Wings hire from within to speed up a Dylan Larkin trade?
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