Dylan Larkin's strict trade list just cost the Detroit Red Wings a real suitor.
The Philadelphia Flyers reportedly checked in on Larkin recently, only to be turned away almost immediately.
Insider Ken Kurz reported that Philadelphia was told directly they weren't on Larkin's list of acceptable destinations.
That's about as clean a rejection as this saga has produced yet, a legitimate team showing real interest and getting shut down almost immediately.
Minnesota, Vegas and Florida remain his preferred landing spots, the same three teams that have been there since this started.
None of them have been willing to meet Detroit's asking price to this point, which is exactly why Larkin still remains on the Red Wings roster.
Turning away outside interest only tightens that bottleneck further, since Detroit simply can't widen its own market alone.
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Dylan Larkin's strict trade list is becoming a major problem for the Red Wings
Larkin posted 34 goals and 33 assists for 67 points across 74 games last season, exactly the caliber of player a team like Philadelphia would want.
The Flyers checking in at all says plenty about how his name is viewed around the league, restricted list or not. Contenders still want him.
Is loyalty to three preferred cities worth potentially sitting through a slow, stuck negotiation heading into camp?
It's the equivalent of only swiping right on three profiles and then wondering why nobody's matched back yet.
Detroit finished last season 41-31-10, good for 16th overall in the league, still hunting a first-line center in any deal that eventually gets done.
That demand already narrows the field. A three-team destination list narrows it even further, almost to a standstill.
My take: turning away a real suitor while nobody on your own list is meeting the price is exactly how a trade request drags into training camp unresolved.
Camp is closing in fast, and Larkin's own restrictions may end up being the biggest reason he's still wearing red and white on opening night.
Should Dylan Larkin expand his list of acceptable trade destinations?
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