Dylan Larkin's name is now attached to Montreal, and it's coming from someone with real insight into the room.
TSN's Bryan Hayes said Monday on OverDrive that a Larkin trade to the Canadiens is a move he could see happening.
"Dylan Larkin to Montreal is what makes sense," Hayes said, adding that people around the league have "got to come around to it."
Larkin posted 67 points in 74 games this past season, with 34 goals and a plus-3 rating. He was even better down the stretch.
Over his final ten games, Larkin racked up 11 points, five goals and six assists, showing no signs of slowing down at age 30.
Detroit finished the season 41-31-10, good for 92 points but a rough finish, dropping three straight and eight of their last ten.
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Kent Hughes urged to make massive move for Dylan Larkin
That kind of late-season fade tends to open the door to bigger conversations. Steve Yzerman has rebuilt this roster before, and moving a core piece wouldn't be unprecedented under his watch.
Montreal, meanwhile, closed out at 106 points and a plus-27 goal differential under Martin St-Louis, a team clearly built to add rather than sell.
Adding a proven center like Larkin to a group already carrying Nick Suzuki would give the Canadiens serious depth down the middle.
It's the kind of move that changes a lineup instantly, not a project or a reclamation bet. Larkin is producing right now, not someday.
Whether Kent Hughes has the assets to actually pry Larkin out of Detroit is the real question here. Insider chatter is one thing, a completed trade is another entirely.
Detroit's captain carries real term left on his deal, and Yzerman doesn't have a track record of moving pieces just because a TV panel likes the fit.
Still, when a name like Larkin starts circulating on national television, teams around the league start making calls. Whether Montreal is one of them remains to be seen.
Should the Canadiens pursue a trade for Dylan Larkin?
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