Dylan Larkin's name surfaced in a destination race this morning, and the Detroit Red Wings forward has the Minnesota Wild out front.
David Pagnotta said on Wednesday's DFO Insider that Minnesota is still in the lead for Larkin.
The caveat is the interesting part. If the 30-year-old opens up beyond the 10 teams currently in play, Boston enters the mix, and maybe the Habs.
Detroit hosts Chicago tonight with that noise hanging over the room. The Red Wings sit eighth in the Atlantic at 5-4-3.
And the forward in question carries an $8.7 million cap hit, the biggest number on the roster. He has dressed for 10 of Detroit's 12 games.
Production has been two goals and four assists. Both of his power play points came as helpers, which is thin for the guy being paid like the engine.
The last five games have been livelier, with a goal and three points. A spark, not a fire.
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Bill Guerin's Wild hold the strongest hand with Kaprizov rolling
Minnesota's interest makes hockey sense. The Wild are 9-3-2, first in the Central, and still perfect at home at 4-0-0.
Kirill Kaprizov is driving it with 14 goals in 14 games. Quinn Hughes has piled up 15 assists from the blue line.
Slide Larkin in behind that duo and John Hynes suddenly has a second line that can push play against anybody in the West.
The catch is Kaprizov's $17 million cap hit. Fitting another big-ticket forward beside that number is the puzzle Bill Guerin has to solve before anything moves.
Boston is the more intriguing fallback. Marco Sturm's Bruins are 9-3-1 and own a +21 goal differential, the kind of cushion that lets a contender shop aggressively.
The two clubs haven't met yet. That changes on November 18 in Detroit, which could make for an awkward night if this thing gets legs.
Montreal already knows this group well. The Canadiens took a 1-0 shootout win over the Red Wings on October 10, and Martin St-Louis has his club at 7-3-2.
Here's the problem for Shawn Horcoff, who only took over as GM in September.
Moving a franchise forward to Boston or Montreal is like selling your car to the neighbor. You'd watch it pull out of the driveway all season long.
Minnesota is the cleaner exit. Different conference, out of sight, and a club built to spend on a push right now.
So how wide does the door open? At 10 teams, this is a Wild story, but go beyond that and Horcoff's phone starts ringing from inside his own division.
Should the Red Wings refuse to trade Dylan Larkin to an Atlantic rival like the Bruins or Canadiens?
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