The ongoing whirlwind of chatter involving Dylan Larkin’s trade request has invariably made its way to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Vegas is in the midst of its third Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. Whether or not the club emerges victorious won’t take away from the fact that it will become a major destination for the Red Wings captain.
According to insider David Pagnotta, there’s a powerful reason why Larkin could end up in Sin City. Pagnotta highlighted the strong friendship between Larkin and Jack Eichel as the main reason why Larkin would want to end up in Vegas.
While the strong bond between Eichel and Larkin could lead him to the Golden Knights, there’s another powerful reason fans shouldn’t overlook. Vegas is a Stanley Cup contender. And it’s pretty clear that Larkin wants to go to a playoff team.
That’s a significant motivation. The Red Wings appear to be stuck in the mud, unable to make any significant headway in the Eastern Conference standings. This season was the third year in a row Detroit crumbled in the final two months of the season.
As such, it’s no wonder Larkin would like to move on to greener pastures elsewhere. While there could be any number of teams emerging as good fits for Larkin, the Golden Knights do make the most sense.
The Biggest Hurdle Golden Knights Would Have to Clear in Larkin Trade
The biggest hurdle the Golden Knights would have to clear to pull off a Larkin trade would be the lack of cap space.
As it stands, PuckPedia shows that Vegas has $4.6 million in cap space for next season. That’s not nothing, but not enough to fit Larkin’s $8.7 million cap hit.
Since there’s a fat chance the Red Wings will retain anything, the Golden Knights will have to figure out how to make the math work. Perhaps moving someone like Tomas Hertl might work out. However, Hertl has a modified no-trade clause, potentially blocking a trade to Detroit.
Vegas does have one more year of Alex Pietrangelo’s contract, which could go on LTIR. That would clear up just enough space for Larkin. Unfortunately, the club would have to figure out how to make the numbers work in 2027-28.
Then, there’s also the possibility of trading Adin Hill and his $6.25 million cap hit. That seems a bit unlikely. But then again, the Red Wings might be willing to take Hill’s contract back as they look to figure out their goaltending situation down the line.
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Vegas Still Needs to Sign a Boatload of Free Agents
If Larkin’s contract were the only thing the Golden Knights had to worry about, it would actually be easy.
But it’s not that simple. The Golden Knights have numerous free agents to worry about this summer.
For starters, there’s Rasmus Andersson. He’ll need a new contract. So will Dylan Coghlan. Pavel Dorofeyev is set to become an RFA, with veterans Rielly Smith, Brandon Saad, Colton Sissons, and Cole Smith all potentially hitting the market.
Andersson and Dorofeyev alone could be massive contracts hitting the Golden Knights’ books next season. Unless Vegas can figure out a way to scare up more cap space, potentially via LTIR, adding Larkin’s contract, on top of the free agents to be re-signed, just won’t work.
If there’s a team that could make this work, it could well be Vegas. So, let’s see if they can come up with a creative solution to bring Larkin to the desert.
Golden Knights Could Be Favorites to Land Larkin for Key Reason