The Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning may have a way out of their current issues by exploring a 1-for-1 deal.
A potential Dylan Larkin-for-Nikita Kucherov trade could be a way for both teams to remove inconvenient trade requests from their organizations, at least that’s what insider Elliotte Friedman floated in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
Now, to be clear, Friedman was nowhere near stating that something was imminent or that the two teams had even talked about this situation. But it’s fascinating to think that such a massive trade could happen at some juncture this season.
Friedman was clear to point out that the idea of such a trade wasn’t his, but rather something he heard from a source speaking to him about the situation.
“Someone said to me the other day, from a pure hockey point of view, he could see a Larkin-for-Kucherov deal.”
The comment stemmed from something critical that Kucherov will consider when naming his list of approved teams. The reigning Hart Trophy winner will consider the fit on his new team over other issues.
In particular, Friedman pointed out that the Red Wings power play would be something very enticing to Kucherov.
“If you look at Detroit, you could have (Lucas) Raymond on one side taking the one-timers, you could have Seider, with the shot at the point like Raddysh did.”
That’s something that could make the Red Wings a highly attractive destination for Kucherov, should a trade really materialize.
Lightning on Larkin’s Trade List Could Facilitate Things
Now, there’s something very interesting to consider here. Dylan Larkin has the Lightning on his trade list. So, if it came down to a Larkin-for-Kucherov deal, there would be few obstacles standing in the way of making the deal happen.
As long as both players were amenable to the deal, there wouldn’t be much of a reason for the deal not to happen.
That said, there might be other moving parts to such a trade. Namely, the Red Wings would have to figure out if they could pay Kucherov what he wants for his next contract.
But looking at the way the Wings are going, money wouldn’t be the issue. The issue would be getting Kucherov to commit to the organization, even if the rebuild isn’t going in the direction that Kucherov might hope for.
Red Wings Would Have to Cough Up a Pretty Penny for Kucherov
Assuming the Red Wings could land Kucherov in some way, whether in a 1-for-1 deal or otherwise, the biggest hurdle for the organization would be to re-sign Kucherov.
As Friedman noted, one of the ballpark figures tossed around has been six years times $20 million AAV. So, it seems that the starting point for any conversation involving a new contract would have to start around $120 million.
A cursory look at the Red Wings’ cap situation reveals the team currently has $23 million in cap space, with Larkin’s cap hit on the books. Of course, Kucherov’s cap hit would offset Larkin’s hit coming off the books.
But next season, the Wings have a projected $47 million in cap space. That allows Detroit to sign Kucherov to a $20 million AAV, plus still have enough room to add more pieces to round out the roster.
At least from a numbers perspective, there’s hope for this Larkin-for-Kucherov idea.
Whether it’s actually feasible, well, that’s another situation altogether.
Red Wings Could Look Into Larkin-for-Kucherov Deal, Friedman