Red Wings News & Rumors: Larkin, Edvinsson & Carlsson Offer Sheet

As the offseason progresses, the Detroit Red Wings find themselves at a crossroad. Dylan Larkin’s trade request has thrown a wrench into their plans to bolster the roster and compete for a playoff spot.

While no trade has taken place yet, transactions from around the league are beginning to factor into Detroit’s calculus. The latest edition of The Hockey Writers’ Red Wings News & Rumors column explains how.

Red Wings-Larkin Standoff Continues

On the surface, the Larkin trade request saga hasn’t changed much. Larkin has not retracted his request, nor has he expanded his trade list. And on Detroit’s side, Steve Yzerman hasn’t budged from his demand for high-end NHL player(s) as part of any Larkin trade.

An intriguing outside variable has entered the equation, though. Philadelphia’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson suddenly changed the valuation of the center position. Whether the offer sheet is matched or not, Carlsson stands to become the NHL’s highest-paid player with an $18 million AAV, and that directly benefits the Red Wings.

“When Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet hit,” Elliotte Friedman noted during the final 32 Thoughts podcast episode of the season, “one of the first calls I got was from another [general] manager who said, ‘how much more valuable do you think Dylan Larkin just got?’ Five years remaining at $8.7 million. And what [the general manager] said to me was, ‘as hard as Steve Yzerman was drawing the line before, he’s going to draw it even harder now.’

“I think the offer sheet made Larkin even more valuable,” Friedman added, “not only in Yzerman’s eyes, but in other people’s eyes, too.”

1Cs don’t come any cheaper. With Carlsson’s offer sheet, the league knows that salaries are going to rise quicker than anticipated, so the cost certainty of Larkin’s deal is highly attractive.

This puts additional pressure on teams like the Minnesota Wild, who are desperately in need of a 1C and have limited cap space. It really is now or never when it comes to acquiring a 1C without a massive cap hit.

Red Wings Bracing for Edvinsson Offer Sheet?

Friedman shared another tidbit Monday – that Carolina has interest in Simon Edvinsson, especially if they part ways with defenseman Alexander Nikishin. And while he is likely an untouchable player in Detroit, we’ve learned with the Carlsson offer sheet that there are alternative routes to acquiring players.

Frankly, the Red Wings need to get out in front of this and sign Edvinsson as soon as possible. They have the cap flexibility to match offer sheets, but cannot afford to put themselves in a bad spot.

We’ve seen it before, Steve Yzerman is a tough negotiator and can drag out conversations if he feels he can do better. It’s a blessing and a curse. He’s also pretty averse to high-AAV contracts.

Let’s say the Hurricanes signed Edvinsson to an offer sheet that was five years at $12 million. Would Yzerman actually match that? That’s likely much more than his valuation of Edvinsson and would walk the defenseman straight to unrestricted free agency at age 28. Sure, Detroit would get four first-round picks in return if they decline to match the suggested offer sheet, but how valuable would those selections be when/if they’re in the 26-32 range?

This serves as a friendly reminder that negotiations don’t take place in a vacuum. Yzerman needs to lock Edvinsson in now before an offer sheet is submitted or another deal influences the negotiations.

Carlsson Offer Sheet Fallout

Regardless of which team Carlsson ends up with, that team will need to shed salary given the forward’s new $18 million cap hit.

Philadelphia currently has $31.5 million in cap space. Carlsson’s deal would drop that number to $13.5 million, with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale still in need of contract extensions. It’s possible Danny Briere finds a way to fit everyone under the cap. A more likely scenario, though, is Philadelphia needing to move out a player to clear sufficient space for the stars.

It’s a similar situation in Anaheim, where the Ducks have $30.8 million in cap space, leaving $12.8 million to sign 41-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier and additional depth players to round out the roster.

Enter the Red Wings. With $21.3 million in cap space, Detroit is in position to help either Philadelphia or Anaheim clear cap space. Perhaps Yzerman can acquire Alex Killorn from Anaheim to address Detroit’s ongoing identity/leadership adjustments. The same could be said about Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund.

More Red Wings News & Rumors

• Patrick Kane remains unsigned and a return to Detroit hasn’t been ruled out.
• Tony Wolak weighed in on how Viktor Arvidsson and Keegan Kolesar address the Red Wings’ offseason objectives.
• Jordan Orth highlighted Detroit’s worst free agent signings over the last 25 years.
• Orth also introduced the Red Wings’ 2026 draft class and shared what to expect of the new prospects.

Data courtesy of CapWages.