Dylan Larkin has a reported list of 10 teams he wants to be traded to.
Since the Detroit Red Wings center has a no-trade clause, he can veto a deal to any place he doesn’t want to go. So he has apparently made it clear to the Red Wings which teams he would approve a trade to, and then they can focus their negotiations on those teams.
It’s a logical process, at least in the context of an NHL that is loaded with various types of no-movement clauses. It just makes it harder for Detroit to find a trading partner when limited to only a third of the league (and it was just a three-team trade list to start, so it’s expanded since then).
The list itself didn’t change on Friday, but the gravity of the list did.
Larkin likely feels a stronger pull on Friday afternoon to the New Jersey Devils.
Dylan Larkin to Devils?
Larkin had put the Devils on his trade list as part of the newly added teams which were reported earlier this week.
New Jersey fit the bill of a United States-based team with some ambitions of contending.
And then the Devils fired the biggest salvo of this NHL season so far on Friday: They traded for Connor Hellebucyk.
The Winnipeg Jets finally chose to trade their superstar goalie, and it wasn’t to the Carolina Hurricanes or Buffalo Sabres or Utah Mammoth but instead to the Devils.
All of a sudden, New Jersey looks like a massive contender, and speculation exists that they aren’t done.
Could the next move be Quinn Hughes to join his brothers? Or what about Larkin to get him out of an awkward situation in Detroit?
The Devils have lost some assets in the deal for Hellebuyck, but they didn’t trade away a first-round pick. They still have ammo to make a trade for Larkin, who would’ve already gotten to play with his Olympic teammate Jack Hughes but would now add Hellebuyck to that mix if he ended up in New Jersey, too.
Dylan Larkin Difference
There is one difference here between Larkin and Hellebuyck — Larkin is playing for his current team to start the season.
Hellebuyck was actually away under a team-imposed suspension, so he had yet to suit up. That in some ways made it easier for the Jets to trade him. There was no injury risk, and it was clear what they looked like without him.
Larkin is still playing for the Red Wings, which means trading him removes him from the lineup in the middle of the season. He’s also at risk of ruining trade chances every time he’s on the ice if he gets hurt.
It’s a positive reflection on Larkin overall that he wants to keep playing for Detroit and honor his contract. It just adds an extra layer for anyone trying to close a deal for him — there are a couple more variables here.
Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin Trade List Just Shifted Gravity