Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings Inching Closer To Contract

Among the names left on the restricted free agent list, Dylan Larkin stands out as a potential franchise linchpin. Though William Nylander and Sam Reinhart are important forwards, and Noah Hanifin, Darnell Nurse, Shea Theodore and Josh Morrissey are all talented defensmen, it’s Larkin that could be the face of the Detroit Red Wings for quite some time and probably the most important contract to still be worked out. Larkin recently said that he believed something would be done before training camp, and yesterday reiterated that fact to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

Something’s coming. I’ve told everyone I think it’ll be before training camp. It’s right there. I’m just waiting to iron out the details.

There have been reports that the Red Wings have been working towards a five or six year contract, but Larkin indicated that there are “different offers out there” that could also include a shorter bridge deal. That depends on how much room GM Ken Holland and the Detroit front office can clear up this summer, given that the Red Wings only have $2.83MM in cap space. Larkin would take up more than that even on a bridge deal, meaning there is plenty more work to be done for the club over the next few weeks.

Teams can go over the cap in the offseason (up to 10% or $7.95MM), and the Red Wings still have Johan Franzen’s cap hit that can be placed on long-term injured reserve for additional cap flexibility. But if Larkin does end up signing a long-term deal, it would take up a considerable amount of space given that he has just four years of restricted free agency remaining.

Even with the crunch that is occurring right now for Detroit, the may rather get Larkin under contract for some of his unrestricted free agent years given that their cap situation starts clearing up as soon as 2019-20. With nearly $18MM scheduled to come off the books in the form of Gustav Nyquist, Jimmy Howard, Thomas Vanek and Niklas Kronwall, the team can certainly afford to give the next wave of talent substantial raises. As a team the Red Wings are getting closer to financial freedom and a real chance at a rebuild, and Larkin’s next deal will set the precedent for all the players that come after him. It might still take a little while to work through, but at this point both sides seem confident something will get done.