The Dylan Larkin situation is at a stalemate. The entire situation blew up in his face, as the teams on his very public three-team trade list don’t really want much to do with him.
The Detroit Red Wings, for their part, can’t keep him even if they wanted to. The situation has deteriorated to the extent that keeping him would be a slap in fans’ faces.
So, what could happen? Is there any realistic way that Larkin could show up for training camp this season?
Well, if Dylan Larkin did show up for camp, he wouldn’t be wearing the “C”. The demotion would be nothing short of a humiliation, potentially leaving the Red Wings and Larkin with only one solution: A holdout.
Holding out means that either Larkin, the Red Wings, or both, would agree that Larkin won’t play until the situation is resolved. But until there’s a GM in place, that won’t be the case.
And so, the only real way out of the conundrum would be a contract termination.
Yes, that’s right. The situation may end up in a very unpleasant contract termination. Whether it’s the Red Wings terminating Dylan Larkin’s deal for breach of contract or a mutual agreement, the only way out would be for both sides to just sever ties once and for all.
Dylan Larkin Would Actually Benefit from Contract Termination
A contract termination would actually not be the worst thing in the world. Dylan Larkin has already collected $31 million of his $69.6 million deal. That means he’s already been paid about half of his contract.
As such, the erstwhile Red Wings’ captain would leave some money on the table. But with the cap rising, a contract termination would allow him to renegotiate another deal at a potentially higher price point.
That’s why Dylan Larkin could actually benefit from a contract termination. The move would instantly make him a UFA, allowing him to sign with any team he wants. At that point, the prospect of adding Larkin may look different to the Florida Panthers or Vegas Golden Knights.
Still, it would be tough for either team to sign Larkin as they just don’t have the cap space. Perhaps there might be another way around the situation.
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Would a One-Year Deal Be a Way Out?
Let’s assume that a team like Vegas or the Minnesota Wild really wanted Dylan Larkin, and he were willing to sign a one-year, $1 million deal just to get on ice?
That actually doesn’t sound like a wild idea. If anything, it would just buy everyone time for the cap to go up next summer and allow the sides to work out another deal.
That may actually work out for the Panthers, if they were really inclined to bring Larkin into the fold.
But then again, the Red Wings would know this. The organization would intuit that terminating Dylan Larkin’s contract would mean having him walk away for nothing, and then allowing a division rival, no less, to scoop him up for nothing.
Ultimately, the Red Wings would be foolish to terminate Larkin’s contract. But unless Larkin is willing to expand his trade list, there’s really no way around the situation.
The likeliest outcome at this point is seeing Larkin sit on the sidelines until something happens, one way or another.
Dylan Larkin Situation May Have a Solution, and It’s Not Pretty