Hours before the puck dropped for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, news broke out of Detroit regarding their longtime captain Dylan Larkin.
Per reporting from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Larkin has requested a trade from the Red Wings. This is all still very new, and according to Friedman’s original report no one involved in this situation (Larkin, his agent, or Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has commented yet.
The decision, if true, is understandable for Larkin. In his 11 years in Detroit, the center has only had the opportunity to play in five postseason games, all coming in his rookie year. In a stat that’s almost impossible to believe, the Team USA representative has played more games in the Olympics than he has Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Further reporting from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan suggests that a less than ideal relationship between Larkin and management steps from tense contract negotiations, which ultimately led to him signing that eight year year that pays him a very Sidney Crosby-esque $8.7 million a year.
And I have to imagine that two months after winning gold in Milan, a third straight season of heartbreaking collapse and just barely missing the playoffs in Detroit might have further swayed the idea to move on.
Trade rumors and ideas are already running wild, and with all of the buzz I figured I might as well look at it from the Pittsburgh angle. Is Larkin to the Penguins a long shot? Sure. But what’s life without at least a little whimsy?
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