With the Connor Hellebuyck saga now over in Winnipeg, as the Jets traded him to the New Jersey Devils, all eyes are on what the Detroit Red Wings will do with Dylan Larkin and defenseman Simon Edvinsson.
Edvinsson still prefers a trade as contract negotiations have gone south and the two parties remain far apart. Meanwhile, Larkin has not rescinded his trade request. His trade list expanded from three teams to five teams to ten teams.
As it stands, the teams Larkin is willing to go to are the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, and Utah Mammoth.
Dylan Larkin is positioning himself to play on a contending team. However, teams like the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, and Montreal Canadiens are looking to get in on the mix. Everyone heard the “We Want Larkin” chants when the Red Wings visited the Canadiens early in October. Those chants moved the needle for some in the Larkin camp, but not enough for him to say yes to a trade to go to Canada. Not yet anyway.
However, that doesn’t mean the Detroit Red Wings are doing their due diligence, as Assistant GM and Director of Pro Scouting Kris Draper has now watched the last three Canadiens games. So if and when they put a deal together, they can bring it to Dylan Larkin to sign off.
As Jim Biringer and David Calabretta stated recently on an episode of the Full Press Hockey Podcast, the Montreal Canadiens are an ideal fit and have what the Red Wings need in terms of assets.
Full Press Hockey Transcriptions
Jim Biringer: “If a Dylan Larkin trade is going to happen, and he only wants to go to Minnesota, and Detroit wants pieces back, it’s got to be like Matt Duchene. You have to get a third team involved.”
David Calabretta: 100%. I mean, I look at the three teams he still has on his list. Like, these are not teams that could give up what Detroit might be looking for.
Biringer: “No. First of all, Dallas isn’t giving up Wyatt Johnson, so forget that because they already gave up Maverick Bourque, and they lost other players too, so that ain’t happening. Florida Anton Lundell is untouchable, even though he doesn’t have training protection. So Florida’s out the window. Vegas, what does Vegas have? Tomas Hertl. He vetoed a trade to Detroit, apparently. So okay, there you go. He’s out the window. So, so, so, Minnesota is the only team he really wants to go to because of Quinn Hughes, but they don’t have anything.”
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Calabretta: “Yeah, and I agree with your stance that there might have to be a three-way trade, or Dylan Larkin should maybe open his list. And I look at where you are right now in New Jersey. You brought that up to me privately, but I think that’s a great fit. Where I am in Montreal, that’s a great fit.”
Biringer: “Everybody said Montreal. Before the experts everywhere said Montreal. I’ve said Montreal. I said it when somebody asked me before this started, on a radio appearance. Where do you think he would fit? I said everybody could use him, but I listed Montreal. I said San Jose. I said New Jersey. I’ve said a bunch of places. Montreal makes sense because they need a second line center.
I’m not saying Oliver Kapanen can’t be a second line center. I’m not saying Alex Newhook can’t be a second line center. I’m not saying that. But if you add (Chris) Kreider, Larkin, and (Ivan) Demidov on a second line with the top line that they have, I’m sorry that that’s that’s competitive in the Eastern Conference.”
Calabretta: “Yeah, 100%. And the word was coming out that from Renaud Lavoie, Eric Engels, Larkin. If he would put Montreal on his list, he would have been a member of the Montreal Canadiens already and to show that Montreal would give up. believe it or not, Michael Hage in a Dylan Larkin deal. There’s no doubt about it.”
Biringer: “Yeah, you’re probably saying Kirby Dach the other way too.”
Calabretta: “Yeah, they would. You know, Michael Hage. First of all, I’ve been thinking that there’s a fit for a while because he plays in school in Michigan. He has ties to Michigan. He’s from Toronto, but he has a lot of ties to Michigan. As I said, he went to school there. That’s a fit, obvious, and I think Detroit, if you lose a center, you want to get a center back who could potentially slot in your top six. And you add a lot of pieces to what Montreal has.”
Again, this is on Dylan Larkin. He has to agree to play in Canada, but if there was a team that treats American players right, it is the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal is building a winner, and he could be the missing piece to put the Canadiens over the top.
However, unlike the other teams on the list, the Montreal Canadiens will have to pay a divisional tax, and the Detroit Red Wings may want more than what the general manager is willing to give up. But it is an intriguing situation to watch moving forward.
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