Forward Notes: Horvat, Larkin, Drouin
Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat has spent his entire NHL career with the franchise that drafted him, but as a pending UFA, his time in Vancouver could be coming to an end. Last month, we covered how Horvat had expressed a a desire to remain in Vancouver. Today that picture got a bit more cloudy. Speaking on CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali podcast, Horvat’s agent, Pat Morris, said that he believes “Bo is a number-one center,” a comment made in reaction to the use of Sean Couturier‘s $7.75MM AAV deal as a comparable for the contract he’s seeking for Horvat. With the Canucks’ currently tight cap situation, it’s an open question as to whether Vancouver will be able to afford the sort of contract Horvat is seeking.
Morris’ belief that Horvat is a number-one center is telling as to how Horvat’s representation will approach contract negotiations going into their client’s potential unrestricted free agency this summer. The going rate for top-six centers in the NHL in their UFA years is around $8MM AAV, if not more, based on recent deals. We’ve seen centers such as Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Ryan Johansen, and Mathew Barzal all hit or surpass that number on their own long-term deals. Horvat scored 31 goals and 52 points last season and brings the sort of defensive value and leadership intangibles teams covet, so it’s not unreasonable that a deal in that wide $7MM-$9MM range is Horvat’s target. For the Canucks, though, it’s fair to wonder whether they’ll be able to afford that sort of contract. With the recent J.T. Miller extension and other players making significant dollars already on their books, it’s definitely possible that the Canucks simply won’t be able to offer Horvat the sort of deal he could receive from another club.
Now, for some other notes regarding forwards from across the NHL:
- Horvat isn’t the only top-six center and team captain to be a pending unrestricted free agent. Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is also set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he too is reportedly seeking a major extension. Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports on TSN’s Insider Trading program that “the plan is” for Larkin’s representatives to introduce Barzal’s recent $9.15MM AAV deal as a contract comparable for Larkin’s next deal. Larkin scored 69 points in 71 games last season, and with another strong year he could fully cement himself as deserving of such a lucrative extension.
- The Montreal Canadiens were without forward Jonathan Drouin for last night’s season-opening game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they may not be without him for much longer. On the Insider Trading program, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Drouin is at “90%” health and getting ready to return to action in the near future. The Canadiens are currently running Cole Caufield, Sean Monahan, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Rem Pitlick as their four left wingers, meaning it’s not immediately clear where Drouin fits into their lineup. But regardless of where he ultimately finds himself on the ice, getting him back to full health is undoubtedly good news for Montreal.
Snapshots: Kane, White, Red Wings
With the Blackhawks clearly embarking on a large-scale rebuild, there has been an expectation that long-time star winger Patrick Kane will be on the move. However, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (audio link) that the veteran isn’t interested in being traded this offseason. Instead, if a deal is going to happen, it will come closer to the trade deadline. From a cap standpoint, that would be more palatable for contending teams when three-quarters of his $10.5MM will be paid off. Kane has full control over where he moves but it appears that move won’t be coming for a while yet.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Panthers center Colin White told Ian Mendes of The Athletic (subscription link) that his preference this summer was to sign a one-year contract over pursuing a multi-year agreement on the open market. Some had speculated he’d follow long-time agent Kent Hughes to Montreal and while White mentioned he gave some consideration to doing so, he decided that it was more important to go to a winning team. While White is coming off a pair of injury-plagued seasons, the 25-year-old could be an upside signing for Florida on his one-year, $1.2MM deal.
- While extension talks between the Red Wings and Dylan Larkin clearly haven’t resulted in a new deal yet, MLive’s Ansar Khan believes an agreement, whenever it does get reached, should give the Michigan native maximum term and an AAV in the $8MM range. The 26-year-old isn’t the prototypical number one center from an offensive standpoint as he has never reached the point-per-game mark but he has logged more than 20 minutes a game on average over the past five seasons. If a deal does get done in that price range, it would represent a roughly $2MM increase on what Larkin is making now.
- Robert Mastrosimone’s decision to leave Boston University for Arizona State University raised some eyebrows but Khan notes in a separate column that the Red Wings were on board with the idea of him transferring. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick in 2019 (52nd overall) and was coming off a good season with the Terriers that saw him put up 25 points in 34 games but he should have an opportunity for a bigger role with the Sun Devils next season in the hopes that a good showing will give him an entry-level deal.
Snapshots: Larkin, Kolesar, Luypen
After changing agents earlier this offseason, it felt like Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings would be able to work out a long-term contract extension to keep the captain with his hometown team. However, it has yet to happen so far. In his latest mailbag for The Athletic (subscription link), Max Bultman tried to peg where a new deal should fall for the 26-year-old, suggesting Mika Zibanejad and Evgeny Kuznetsov as viable comparables. Those players took up a little more than 10% at the time their deals would sign which would peg Larkin’s price tag around the $8.6MM range. That would certainly represent a sizable increase on his current $6.1MM AAV and it doesn’t hurt that Larkin is coming off a 69-point season, the second-most of his career. There’s still plenty of time to get a deal done but it’s a bit surprising that an agreement isn’t yet in place.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Although he underwent offseason surgery after missing the final three games of the season due to a lower-body injury, Golden Knights winger Keegan Kolesar told reporters, including Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link) that he will be ready to return by training camp next month. The 25-year-old had 24 points in 77 games last season which helped him to earn a three-year, $4.2MM contract last week to avoid salary arbitration. With Max Pacioretty and Mattias Janmark moving on this summer, Kolesar could be in line for a bit more playing time next season.
- After signing his entry-level deal earlier this month, Blackhawks prospect Jalen Luypen is on the move in the WHL. Tri-City announced that they’ve acquired the 20-year-old from Edmonton in a swap that included multiple conditional draft picks that are likely dependent on where the forward plays next season. Chicago could turn Luypen pro with AHL Rockford or send him back to junior for an overage year where he’d try to improve on the 64 points in the 66 games he played last season.
Extension Notes: Larkin, Olofsson, Deslauriers
While many players who are just a year away from trips to unrestricted free agency, such as J.T. Miller or David Pastrnak have seen their names floated in various degrees of trade rumors, Detroit Red Wings fans have not had to face a similar degree of speculation regarding their own prominent 2023 free agent: Dylan Larkin. That’s because Larkin, 25, was born only 45 minutes outside of Detroit, played at the University of Michigan, and now captains the NHL team he grew up rooting for. He’s been attached by the hip to the Red Wings for most of his life, either as a fan or player, and many have assumed that his relationship with the team would endure through any potential contract hiccups.
That seems to be what’s most likely to happen. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Red Wings “are believed to be working on an extension” for Larkin and GM Steve Yzerman has in the past communicated a desire to get Larkin signed to a new long-term deal. Larkin had a career year 2021-22, setting a career-high in points-per-game and effectively bouncing back from what was a miserable, 23-point 2020-21 campaign. Larkin has had his bouts of inconsistency, but at his best he’s a near point-per-game top-six center. In a market where a center with a weaker offensive resume like Kevin Hayes can earn above $7MM on a long-term extension and comparable centers such as Tomas Hertl are making $8MM or more on their own deals, expect a decent raise for Larkin from the $6.1MM cap hit he’s played on for the past few seasons.
Now, for some other notes regarding extension business this offseason:
- As part of his 32 Thoughts blog, Friedman reported on quite a few extension situations across the NHL, touching on Larkin as well as Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson. Olofsson, who turns 27 this month, played 2021-22 on a $3.05MM cap hit and could be looking for a raise after a strong offensive season. Olofsson’s negotiation is an important one for the Sabres and GM Kevyn Adams, as Olofsson is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent who is precariously close to a trip to unrestricted free agency. A native of Ornskoldsvik, a Swedish hockey hotbed, Olofsson scored 20 goals and 49 points in 72 games this past season and also has an impressive 42-point 54-game rookie campaign. Per Friedman, the Sabres “are making progress” on an extension with Olofsson, and have “boatloads of cap space” to get it done. All indications point to the talented sniper remaining in Buffalo for the foreseeable future.
- One pending free agent situation where an extension might not be possible is with Minnesota Wild winger Nicolas Deslauriers. Per Friedman, the Wild want to keep Deslauriers, and GM Bill Guerin “would already have Deslauriers re-signed” if it were possible. But unfortunately for the Wild, the cap constraints imposed by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts could keep the Wild from being true contenders in what is expected to be a “hot market” for Deslauriers. As a result, Friedman believes the Wild “won’t be able” to retain the winger they surrendered a 2023 third-rounder to acquire. Deslauriers 31, had only 13 points in 81 games in 2021-22, although that likely won’t stop him from having a solid amount of interest once he hits the open market on the 13th.
Dylan Larkin Changes Representation
One of the biggest items on Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman‘s checklist this offseason is a potential contract extension with captain Dylan Larkin. The 25-year-old center is signed through 2022-23 and would become an unrestricted free agent next offseason if a deal isn’t reached. It seemed as though Yzerman and the Red Wings front office would be negotiating that extension with KO Sports, but last night Max Bultman of The Athletic reported that Larkin has changed representation. He’s now with CAA, represented by Matt Williams and NHL super-agent Pat Brisson.
It appears as though that was a very unexpected decision, given the statement that Kurt Overhardt, CEO of KO Sports, released to Bultman today:
From a relationship standpoint, Dylan Larkin worked primarily with my business partner, Joe Oliver. Throughout the past 11 years, Joe has thoughtfully guided Dylan through countless matters both on and off the ice. There was never a single issue raised between Dylan and Joe for the entirety of their professional relationship and Joe was completely blindsided by this decision. For the past several months, Joe had been working directly with Dylan in preparation to negotiate his contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings.
As with all of our clients, our work on behalf of Dylan was at the highest standard in all situations. We are very disappointed in his decision and the timing.
Obviously, the interest of the agents is to remain with a client through what should be a massive negotiation, and Overhardt’s statement should be taken with a grain of salt. But it does confirm for Red Wings fans that Larkin is ready to negotiate this offseason–or at least was with his previous representation.
While KO Sports is no small outfit, moving to CAA takes Larkin right to the top. Brisson has more than $1B in negotiated active contracts according to PuckPedia, including clients like John Tavares, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Anze Kopitar, all players with an average annual value of at least $10MM. For what it’s worth (which may be nothing), Brisson currently has just one client with the Red Wings–Jared McIsaac–and none with Yzerman’s former outfit in Tampa Bay.
Larkin is coming off quite the platform year to start negotiating. Reinvigorated by his young, up-and-coming teammates, the speedy forward scored 31 goals and 69 points in 71 games. His overall production is similar to CAA client Matt Duchene through the early part of his career; Duchene ended up signing a seven-year, $56MM contract with the Nashville Predators when he hit the open market in 2019. He did negotiate a multi-year deal with the Red Wings for Anthony Mantha in 2020.
Players signed through 2022-23 are eligible for extensions on July 13, when free agency opens this year.
Dylan Larkin Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery
May 3: Larkin explained today that the surgery has been a success, and that he looks forward to a full summer of training ahead of camp in the fall.
April 18: The Detroit Red Wings will be without captain Dylan Larkin for the rest of the season after he underwent core muscle surgery today. The successful procedure was carried out in McLaren Hospital in Michigan, and Larkin is now facing a recovery timeline of eight to ten weeks.
It was a noticeable step in the right direction for Larkin and the Red Wings this season, even though they are set to miss the playoffs once again. The team was buoyed by the arrival of several impactful rookies, while the captain himself rebounded from a terrible 2020-21 season. Larkin recorded his second 30+ goal season by scoring 31 times in 71 games, and was on pace to set setting a new career-high in points.
Now facing a serious recovery, it will be interesting to see whether this summer brings an extension for the 25-year-old center. Larkin is only signed through the 2022-23 season and will be eligible for an extension in July, though there is at least some concern over whether that is truly the plan of general manager Steve Yzerman and the rest of the Red Wings brass.
Detroit has basically no long-term commitments at this point, with Robby Fabbri the only player in the entire organization signed to a one-way contract or 2024-25. While Larkin seems an obvious choice to break that trend and sign a big extension, the team could have different plans for the future. Should he sign, it would likely be quite a hefty contract for the 15th overall pick from 2014. Larkin has 358 points in 504 career games, but has only reached the playoffs on one occasion–way back in 2016. With Tyler Bertuzzi, Pius Suter, Oskar Sundqvist, and Alex Nedeljkovic also scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2023, there could still be some drastic changes to the core group as they look to move into the next era of competitiveness.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
NHL Announces Player Assignments For Skills Competition
The NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place tomorrow night in Las Vegas, and the league has announced ahead of time which players will participate in which events. The player assignments for the seven events are as follows:
Fastest Skater
Chris Kreider, NYR
Adrian Kempe, LAK
Kyle Connor, WPG
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH
Jordan Kyrou, STL
Dylan Larkin, DET
Cale Makar, COL
Connor McDavid, EDM
Save Streak
Jack Campbell, TOR
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL
Frederik Andersen, CAR
Tristan Jarry, PIT
Cam Talbot, MIN
Juuse Saros, NSH
Thatcher Demko, VAN
John Gibson, ANA
Fountain Face-Off
Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA
Claude Giroux, PHI
Jordan Eberle, SEA
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
Roman Josi, NSH
Nick Suzuki, MTL
Zach Werenski, CBJ
Mark Stone, VGK
Hardest Shot
Adam Pelech, NYI
Timo Meier, SJS
Victor Hedman, TBL
Tom Wilson, WSH
Breakaway Challenge
Goalies: Manon Rhéaume & Wyatt Russell
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN
Trevor Zegras, ANA
Jack Hughes, NJD
Alex DeBrincat, CHI
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK
Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22
Nazem Kadri, COL
Auston Matthews, TOR
Joe Pavelski, DAL
Steven Stamkos, TBL
Brady Tkachuk, OTT
Accuracy Shooting
Leon Draisaitl, EDM
Clayton Keller, ARI
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF
Sebastian Aho, CAR
Jake Guentzel, PIT
Troy Terry, ANA
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY
Patrice Bergeron, BOS
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK
Two new events, the Fountain Face-Off and 21 in ’22 will be held outside in the Bellagio fountain and Las Vegas strip respectively. Individual winners of each event will earn $30,000.
2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters Revealed
Jan 26: After Batherson was injured last night, the league has announced that Brady Tkachuk will replace him and be the Senators’ representative.
Jan 13: During a live reveal on ESPN’s SportsCenter program in the United States, the National Hockey League unveiled their four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Eight skaters and two goalies were announced for each team, leaving one skater spot open for each division. That last spot will once again be decided by a fan vote, who they can select by voting at NHL.com/LastMenIn.
The head coaches of each team were announced earlier, decided by the teams in first place (by points percentage) in their division on New Years Day. Florida’s Andrew Brunette heads the Atlantic Division, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour will coach the Metropolitan Division, Colorado’s Jared Bednar is the bench boss for the Central Division, and Vegas’ Peter DeBoer will serve as the Pacific Division’s coach.
Below are the full rosters for each division.
Atlantic Division
F Auston Matthews “C” (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Drake Batherson (Ottawa Senators)
F Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
F Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)
F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
F Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
G Jack Campbell (Toronto Maple Leafs)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Metropolitan Division
F Alex Ovechkin “C” (Washington Capitals)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
F Chris Kreider (New York Rangers)
D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D Adam Pelech (New York Islanders)
D Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)
G Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Central Division
F Nathan MacKinnon “C” (Colorado Avalanche)
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets)
F Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)
F Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes)
F Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues)
F Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars)
D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
G Cam Talbot (Minnesota Wild)
Pacific Division
F Connor McDavid “C” (Edmonton Oilers)
F Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
F Jordan Eberle (Seattle Kraken)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
F Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks)
F Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights)
D Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
G Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks)
G John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)
Snapshots: Three Stars, Coyotes, Point
The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, with Dylan Larkin taking the top spot. The Detroit Red Wings captain scored five goals and seven points in three games, helping the club maintain a grip on the second Eastern Conference Wild Card spot. Larkin, seemingly rejuvenated by his upstart young teammates, has 29 points in 27 games this season. Should he finish with more than a point-per-game, it would be the first time in his seven-year career.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Nikolaj Ehlers took home second and third respectively after outstanding weeks of their own. The St. Louis Blues winger had four goals and six points in three games, proving once again that he’s healthy and ready to reclaim his place as one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the league. After two seasons marred by injury, Tarasenko is up to 29 points in 31 games. Ehlers meanwhile has grown into one of the most consistent players for the Winnipeg Jets and tallied seven points in just three games. The 25-year-old now has 24 points in 30 games, split evenly between goals and assists.
- The Arizona Coyotes have paid approximately $930K to the city of Glendale, Katie Sharp of The Athletic confirmed with city manager Kevin Phelps. The team has “satisfied” what the city asked for when they threatened to lock them out of Gila River Arena earlier this month. The Coyotes have now gotten up to date with debts owed to the city and state, while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly insisted that it wasn’t a problem and the team isn’t moving. In fact, Bettman suggested that Glendale had an “edge or agenda” in how they were dealing with the Coyotes. Phelps told The Athletic at the time that there was no agenda, only that the city wanted “assurances that the team pay all of their obligations to the city in a timely manner.”
- Brayden Point was back on the ice at Tampa Bay Lightning practice today, and he was wearing a regular white jersey, according to team reporter Gabby Shirley. Point was not included in the regular lines but skated alongside Gabriel Fortier and Nikita Kucherov. The star center is expected to return soon after the holiday break; he last played on November 20 and was given a four-to-six-week timeline.
Dylan Larkin Clears COVID Protocol
Nov 18: Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports that Larkin is confirmed negative, meaning he should be able to exit the protocol and play tonight for the Red Wings. The team has officially confirmed he had a false positive and Larkin was at the morning skate in Las Vegas with the rest of the team.
Nov 17: During last night’s game against the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin exited partway through and didn’t return. The team announced that he had been pulled because of COVID testing and is now in the protocol.
The Red Wings did not confirm whether Larkin tested positive, but Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that a positive test result from the morning was received by the team during the game. Should Larkin develop any symptoms, he’ll be held away from the team for a minimum of ten days. He will likely stay in Dallas while the Red Wings travel to Vegas for a match against the Golden Knights tomorrow.
Losing your captain is never ideal, but Larkin is also in the midst of a strong stretch of play for the Red Wings. Even in last night’s game, he scored before leaving, and now has goals in four of his last five matches. The Red Wings ended up losing the game and are now at 8-8-2 on the year.