Dylan Larkin to the Montreal Canadiens keeps popping up online, and the pitch sounds tempting on paper.
Maietta Sports Media laid out the idea this week, floating Larkin as the second line centre Montreal has been missing.
Their mock package sends Larkin to Montreal, while Detroit gets back Alexander Zharovsky, Zachary Bolduc, Bryce Pickford, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second.
It's a fun exercise. It's also missing the one detail that actually decides whether this happens.
Larkin holds a no-trade clause, and according to the post, he most likely wouldn't waive it to play in Montreal.
That single detail changes everything about how realistic this idea actually is.
Larkin posted 67 points last season for Detroit, with 34 goals and 33 assists over 74 games, including 9 game-winning goals.
I keep seeing so many people talking about that Dylan Larkin would be the perfect 2nd line centre for the Montreal Canadiens.
But there's too many hurdles to stop that from happening.
The most important one is that Larkin most likely won't waive his no trade clause to play for a Canadian team.
Montreal needs him to be the 2nd line centre but Detroit expects a 1st line centre return.
This is why I think a Mock trade like this one would be needed to make a trade happen if Larkin did waive his no trade clause.
Montreal Receives:
Dylan Larkin
Detroit Receives:
Alexander Zharovsky
Zachary Bolduc
Bryce Pickford
2027 first round pick
2028 second round pick
Larkin's contract would fit in perfectly with the core of the Montreal Canadiens
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Canadiens would sacrifice five major assets to land Dylan Larkin
Bolduc, the centerpiece Detroit would get in return, put up 30 points in 78 games for Montreal last season, a middle six role player right now, not a proven second liner.
That gap in production is exactly why fans keep reaching for Larkin instead of waiting on Bolduc to develop into that role.
Larkin carries an $8,700,000 cap hit, tied to his captaincy and status as Detroit's top center for nearly a decade under Steve Yzerman's rebuild.
Moving a player like that, with term and a no-trade clause attached, takes more than a good pitch from outside the organization. It takes the player actually wanting out.
Detroit finished last season 41-31-10 for 92 points, 16th overall, hardly a team desperate to blow up its top center.
Montreal, meanwhile, keeps searching for that true second line piece behind Nick Suzuki, and Larkin's name will keep surfacing until they find one on the trade market.
Head coach Martin St-Louis has plenty of pieces to work with already, but a legitimate second center remains the one hole nobody in Montreal disputes.
Until Larkin actually signals he'd waive his clause for Montreal specifically, this stays exactly what it is right now, a mock trade and nothing more.
Would you give up two prospects, a roster piece and two picks for Dylan Larkin?
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