Detroit Red Wings
Canadiens Have Trade Offer Ready to Get Over Larkin Finish Line
One insider believes the Montreal Canadiens have a strong trade offer ready for Dylan Larkin, the forward just needs to approve them.
The Montreal Canadiens are ready and willing to pay a premium to pry Dylan Larkin out of Detroit. As the Red Wings work through their trade conversations with other teams about Larkin, the one team that seems eager to get something done has to wait for Larkin to put them on his preferred trade list. As of now, the Canadiens are not on it.
NHL insider David Pagnotta believes it’s just a matter of time.
Speaking on Daily Faceoff and episode 3 of the DFO Rundown, Pagnotta told Jeff Marek:
“If Detroit calls up Kent Hughes, Montreal’s GM, and says, ‘Alright, Larkin is willing to come to Montreal’… it’s going to take maybe an hour. They just gotta do the paperwork. I think Montreal has an offer that they’re ready to present to Detroit that they believe will either get them right to the finish line or over the finish line.”
Canadiens fans seem ready too. When the Red Wings traveled into Montreal for a game this past week, 20,000 fans started chanting “We want Larkin!”. Marek wondered if it changed Larkin’s mind about Montreal. Pagnotta said it might have, calling it fun and saying kudos to the Bell Centre fans.
Larkin noticed. “It was interesting,” he told reporters after the game. “I never would have imagined that in this building in my career. They’re passionate fans; this is, in my opinion, the best atmosphere in hockey. They’re knowledgeable and they love their team, so that’s how I read into it. But after a few seconds, it was just back to focusing on the game.”
Status Quo on Larkin Trade Front
During Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman admitted there is always the chance a deal could happen. “I always say, ‘never say never,’ until it’s done. I still think it’s unlikely.”
Red Wings GM Shawn Horcoff said Wednesday it’s “status quo” with Dylan Larkin. Pressed on what “status quo” means, Horcoff explained:
“With Dylan, a few things. He’s had a tough month. Obviously there’s a lot going on with Dylan, but I think on top of it, the injury probably came at a really inopportune time for him. I think it’s going to take some time, and he’s working back through that, and it’s only going to get easier for him as things go on here and he starts to find his game and his legs a little bit more. It hasn’t been easy for him.”
Horcoff didn’t share any updates on Larkin’s request for a trade, nor did he reveal which teams might be on Larkin’s trade list (not that a GM would ever do so).
“He’s got the full support of management and his teammates and the coaching staff in there, and he’s come back and really came to play right off the bat. And I think the fans have recognized that,” he added.
So does Larkin change his mind in the next couple of weeks? Right now, it feels a bit like a long shot. At the same time, insiders are starting to wonder if time passing will have an impact and if the forward realizes that playing in Montreal might not be all that bad. “I think he’s at least considered it. But I don’t know that it’s likely,” added Friedman.
Horcoff added that Red Wings fans are coming around on Larkin, too. “Obviously there were some tough times for him, I would say, early, but through his effort and through his work and obviously the acknowledgment of it being a difficult situation and Dylan, to his own word, manning up to it, I think you’re starting to see a little bit of reaction from the fans in terms of understanding that, listen, Dylan’s here and he’s doing the best to play his best out there for the Red Wings.”
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