Dylan Larkin has four teams on his trade list, and the Canadiens still aren't one of them.
Florida, Vegas, Minnesota and Dallas. That's the entire board, and his no-trade clause gives him the last word on all of it.
Montreal can assemble whatever package it likes. None of it moves an inch until that list changes.
Which is where Chris Kreider enters the conversation. The two are Americans who have shared national team rooms for years.
They know each other well. That relationship is the argument Montreal is apparently leaning on.
David Ettedgui floated an all-American trio of Kreider, Larkin and Cole Caufield. On paper that's a fun sentence to read.
Caufield scored the winner in Montreal's 4-3 overtime result Saturday and put 4 shots on net doing it.
Chris Kreider could bring his American friend Dylan Larkin to Montreal
Kreider has praised the culture Martin St-Louis built since arriving. He also picked Montreal over more money elsewhere.
That last detail is the whole pitch. A veteran who took less to be somewhere carries real weight inside a room.
He logged 17:05 at the Bell Centre on Saturday and got one shot away. Quiet first look, nothing alarming about it.
None of that matters without a signature. A no-trade clause doesn't care how good the recruiting sounds.
Detroit has its own mess to sort. Shawn Horcoff took over as interim general manager this week.
Elliotte Friedman reported ownership refused a deal that wasn't built on immediate help. Steve Yzerman got overruled on it.
Minnesota is already sitting on that list and has been called the likeliest landing spot all week long.
So Montreal isn't only fighting one player's preferences here. It's fighting four clubs that already cleared the gate.
Detroit opens against Columbus on Monday. Ottawa visits the Bell Centre the same night.
So does a teammate's phone call actually move a list? Recruiting a man with a no-trade works like asking someone to relocate for a job they never applied for.
Kent Hughes can keep dialling. Larkin still holds the only pen that matters in this, and nothing suggests he's reached for it.
Source : Marqueur
Should Kent Hughes keep chasing Dylan Larkin if Montreal isn't on his list?
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