Gino Hard just reported that the Red Wings want Dylan Larkin to expand his 10-team trade list, and the captain's camp isn't budging.
Detroit has so far failed to find a deal inside that list, which is why the ask is on the table tonight. The Red Wings are playing at Tampa Bay as this goes up, with the game in the third period.
Hard reports that Detroit wants to explore deals with 6-8 additional teams, including Montreal, Boston, LA and Buffalo.
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This didn't come out of nowhere. Earlier today, David Pagnotta's report on Minnesota's pursuit of Larkin had the Red Wings believing they could top Minnesota's offer. Then came word of the Bruins aiming to make a deal.
So Detroit has suitors, and still no deal. That's a strange spot for a team to be in with a 30-year-old center who was drafted 15th overall by the Red Wings in 2014 and has spent his career there.
Why the Red Wings want a bigger Larkin market
The four teams named in the report tell their own story. Each one sits in a very different place right now.
Boston is first in the Atlantic Division at 11-4-1, and Marco Sturm's team just beat Vegas in a shootout Monday night. Buffalo has won three straight under Lindy Ruff and sits 7th in the division.
Los Angeles is 30th in the NHL at 4-7-2, which makes Peter Laviolette's team a very different kind of trade partner. A club that far down the standings has its own questions to answer before it takes on a player like this.
Larkin's own numbers are modest this season: 2 goals and 4 assists in 10 games. Over his career he has 649 points in 818 games, and that résumé is why the market for him is real.
The Red Wings themselves are 7-5-3 and 17th in the league, so Todd McLellan's group isn't in free fall. Detroit is asking its captain to open the door wider while it is still winning games.
Larkin's camp has apparently said no, and that's where this stands. If the Red Wings can't land a deal inside the current list, Detroit will have to either find a new way to move the captain or accept the list as it is.
Should the Red Wings keep pushing Dylan Larkin to widen his trade list?
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Breaking: Red Wings reportedly hit a wall in trade standoff with Dylan Larkin
