Dylan Larkin trade talks just moved, with the Red Wings reportedly advancing discussions with a couple of teams on his list Thursday.
Marco D'Amico reported the development this morning. He also said there's no sign yet that it's a pressure tactic to get the Detroit forward to expand his list.
Read that again. These are clubs already on Larkin's list, which means a real path to a deal exists right now.
He carries an $8,700,000 cap hit, the biggest on the Red Wings, and has dressed for 10 of Detroit's 12 games this season.
The veteran forward has six points so far. He's still hunting his first power-play goal of the season.
He's warmed up lately with three points over his last five games, hardly the profile of a guy playing his way out of the conversation.
Wild, Capitals and Hurricanes now loom over the Larkin sweepstakes
D'Amico named three clubs to watch: Minnesota, Washington and Carolina. All three sit well above Detroit in the standings.
The Hurricanes are 10-2-2 and first overall. Eric Tulsky's group is averaging 3.8 goals per game, which tells you this would be a luxury buy.
Jordan Staal, 38, has gone pointless through six games. That kind of number gets a front office thinking.
Minnesota might be the most intriguing fit. The Wild sit first in the Central at 9-3-2.
Bill Guerin already has Kirill Kaprizov with 14 goals in 14 games. Imagine what another proven top-six forward does for that attack.
Washington is the wild card. The Capitals are 7-4-0 after Wednesday night's 5-2 win over Philadelphia.
Dylan Strome leads them with 12 points. Pierre-Luc Dubois has dressed for just six games, and that gap is where a Larkin conversation starts.
Detroit's side of this is messier. The Red Wings are 5-4-3 and eighth in the Atlantic.
John Gibson carries an .867 save percentage, and no trade return fixes that on its own.
Moving Larkin now is a bad idea, and it isn't particularly close.
Shawn Horcoff took over as GM in September. Dealing the face of the roster this early is like selling the house before you've unpacked the boxes.
And what does all this do to a locker room that just won a shootout in Edmonton on Monday?
Todd McLellan has Chicago at home tonight, and any shift Larkin takes now doubles as an audition.
Detroit hosts St. Louis on Saturday before a road trip through Florida and Tampa Bay. Whether No. 71 is on that flight just became a live question.
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More details to come.
Should the Red Wings trade Dylan Larkin to the Wild, Capitals or Hurricanes this season?
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