Dylan Larkin's future with the Detroit Red Wings looks different now that Steve Yzerman is gone.
Yzerman and the Red Wings mutually parted ways this offseason, closing the book on his run as the man running Detroit's front office.
That exit matters here. Numerous reports throughout the summer pointed to friction between Larkin and Yzerman as the real issue driving trade speculation.
Kevin Weekes addressed the situation Wednesday on Off The Roster, and he sounded genuinely intrigued by what a new front office could mean.
"I think maybe the change in management might, and I'm not speaking for Dylan, but it might change the dynamic a little bit to make him want to stay," Weekes said.
"I'm not sure that he ends up being traded," he added.
That's a notable shift in tone from a story that's followed Larkin all summer. Would one front-office change really flip a situation that looked this far gone?
Dylan Larkin's Red Wings future takes major turn after Steve Yzerman exit
Larkin is coming off a strong season by any measure, not just a contract-year one wrapped in trade noise.
He posted 34 goals and 33 assists for 67 points across 74 games, still Detroit's most dangerous name on any given night.
He's been on an absolute heater lately too, piling up 9 points in his last five games and 11 in his last ten.
A player producing at that level, on an $8,700,000 cap hit, isn't exactly a rental Detroit should be eager to move.
Detroit's season on the whole told a rougher story. The Red Wings finished 41-31-10, good for 16th overall, and closed the year on a three-game skid.
Losing Larkin on top of that record would have been the kind of move that sets a rebuild back years, not forward.
It's the hockey equivalent of finally getting a new boss and realizing the job you wanted to quit might actually be fine now.
Weekes was careful to say he isn't speaking for Larkin, and that caveat matters. This is analysis, not confirmation from the player himself.
Still, a credible voice softening on a trade that once looked close to inevitable is exactly the kind of shift that changes how this situation gets read around the league.
Nothing is settled yet. But the version of this story where Larkin is gone by opening night looks a lot less certain than it did a month ago.
Should the Red Wings still be open to trading Dylan Larkin?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Patrik Laine trade rumors: multiple NHL teams emerge as possible destinations
