The Red Wings could lose Simon Edvinsson and Dylan Larkin in the same season, and the return might be far smaller than it should have been.
Start with the blue line. David Pagnotta said on the DFO Insider that "there are teams that would love to get their hands on this kid," and offer sheet territory is now in play.
He added there's been no formal trade request, "but there's been a few jabs tossed back and forth."
Then there's Larkin. Pagnotta had already reported that the primary piece in a deal would be "a proven young current top 6 caliber forward, controllable."
That price was floated when Detroit held all the leverage. Now the center is day-to-day, his status for Friday's opener is up in the air, and leverage has a way of leaking out.
In the clip, Pagnotta walks through the Edvinsson situation in two parts, the offer sheet market first, then the line about jabs going back and forth.
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Shawn Horcoff inherits a mess as interim GM in Detroit
Shawn Horcoff is steering all of this as interim general manager. Two franchise-level decisions just landed on his desk at the worst possible time.
Edvinsson is 23 and finished +12 in each of the last two seasons. Players with that profile don't land in offer sheet talk by accident.
Larkin scored 34 goals and 67 points last season, his fifth straight 30-goal year. Selling that at a discount would sting for years.
This is mismanagement, plain and simple. Two players this valuable should never reach the point where the team's best-case scenario is damage control.
It's like holding a garage sale after the moving truck already left. You take whatever anyone offers.
The fans have noticed. Patience in Detroit is wearing thin, and every new report of jabs or price tags makes it thinner.
Todd McLellan opens Friday against the Rangers trying to keep the room focused. That's a tall order with two of the organization's biggest names floating in the rumour mill.
If both walk, the Red Wings lose two stars and the return they could have had. Fans will remember the second part longer.
Have the Red Wings mismanaged the Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson situations?
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