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Is erstwhile Detroit Red Wings former captain Dylan Larkin about to reshuffle the list of teams he’ll approve a trade to as part of his no-movement clause?
If so, will it matter? Or might it be about as effective at expediting a deal as moving the deck chairs on the Titanic would have been in trying to keep the ship afloat after it hit the iceberg?
Noted hockey insider Elliotte Friedman is the one who began this notion that Larkin is in the process of reconfiguring the approved teams on his acceptable trade list. According to Friedman, this should be taking place within the next couple of days.
Today will mark a week since Larkin participated in his last official act as a Red Wings player. He scored the tying goal in Edmonton in a game in which the Red Wings beat the Oilers 4-3 in a shootout.
Of course, no one knew it at the time, but the next day, Larkin met with his agent, Pat Brisson, and made the decision to leave the Red Wings.
“He has a 10-team list of teams he’s willing to go to,” Friedman said. “Over the next 24-48 hours, it’s possible we see that trade list altered. Some teams like Florida and Vegas, even Colorado, it’s very hard to see anything like that happening, if not impossible.
“I do think it’s possible that Larkin may take some teams off, or possibly even add some teams on.”
The Minnesota Wild still seem to be the team getting the most attention in Larkin trade rumors.
“The impression I really get from talking to people around the league is that Minnesota thinks they have a great offer on the table,” Friedman said. “Danila Yurov, another player, and I think two or three (first-round picks).”
If this is indeed the offer, evidently the Detroit brass isn’t in agreement on its greatness. Otherwise, wouldn’t the deal be done?
Horcoff doesn’t sound like he’s interested in stocking up on futures.
“I think the goal is to get players that can help us right away,” Horcoff said. “But at the same time, the vision and the ultimate goal is the long-term success of the organization.
“I’m open to all different kinds of deals, and really we’re just trying to find something that is fair for a return for someone of Dylan’s caliber.”
What we do know for sure from the latest Larkin machinations is that someone wasn’t telling us the truth.
Did the Red Wings lie when telling us on Wednesday that Larkin’s absence from practice was nothing more than a maintenance day, when we now know he’d quit on the team?
Or did Larkin lie to the Red Wings and tell them he needed Wednesday off for recovery?
It was interesting to note the words of Detroit interim GM Shawn Horcoff when discussing the Larkin situation before Thursday’s win over Chicago.
“To put it simply, we received a call from Dylan’s agent today just saying that Dylan wasn’t going to be coming to the rink and no longer wanted to be a part of the Red Wings,” Horcoff said.
That would appear to suggest that it was Larkin who was keeping the Red Wings in the dark about his future.