Red Wings Have One Card Left in Dylan Larkin Standoff

Shawn Horcoff went to Dylan Larkin’s camp with a simple request this week, and he came back empty-handed. The Detroit Red Wings’ interim general manager told agents Pat Brisson and Matt Williams that he had exhausted the 10 teams on the former captain’s approved list without finding a trade that worked for Detroit, then asked whether more clubs could be added.

Pierre LeBrun reported in a segment on RDS on Nov. 3 that the answer in recent days has remained no (translated from French). He also called the situation a real poker game, and that description fits. Both sides are holding cards, and Detroit just found out which ones Larkin isn’t willing to give up.

Horcoff’s Request Changed the Tone in Detroit

Publicly, the Red Wings have sounded calm. “I’m prepared to wait as long as necessary,” Horcoff said on the day of the suspension, according to Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s report for NHL.com, and he made it clear that any deal had to help the club.

Privately, the message to Dylan Larkin and his representatives was more direct. Telling a player’s agents that you have tried everything is not a negotiating tactic a general manager uses lightly. It is an admission that the market the player approved has not produced a return the team can accept.

That matters because it shifts the burden. According to Horcoff’s own message, Detroit has now worked through every name on the list. If the list stays closed, the lack of a trade can no longer be pinned only on the Red Wings’ asking price.

Six to Eight Teams Are Waiting Outside Larkin’s List

The most striking detail in LeBrun’s report is the number of clubs on the outside. He said six to eight teams that are not among Larkin’s approved destinations have spoken with Horcoff, and he named Montreal, Boston, Buffalo, and Los Angeles among them.

That is nearly as many teams as the list itself contains, and some of those outside clubs have shown real urgency. Chris Johnston revealed in his Monday podcast episode that Buffalo had put a significant offer in front of Detroit, only to learn it was a nonstarter because of where Larkin is willing to go. We explained earlier this week how his trade list is blocking a big Red Wings offer that Detroit can’t act on.

On Tuesday, TSN’s Darren Dreger said in his Early Trading segment that the Bruins are “no different than the Montreal Canadiens” in wanting to get on the former captain’s list. He added that Larkin’s agency, CAA, believes a deal can still be made with the 10 teams already on it.

Los Angeles is a less familiar name in this conversation, while the Canadiens have been linked to Larkin for months, as our breakdown of a possible Montreal trade package explored. The demand is real. It just isn’t coming from the clubs he picked.

Why Larkin’s Camp Keeps Saying No

From Larkin’s side, the refusal is easy to understand. His camp’s position, as Dreger described it, is that the 10 teams already approved are enough to get a deal done. Beyond that, his no-trade protection is the strongest tool he has in this process, and every team he adds gives Detroit more ways to send him somewhere he didn’t choose.

He has already expanded it before, most recently to 10 teams in October, and our look at why that group offered only two realistic fits showed how little room that expansion actually created. Opening it again would mean giving up even more control, and nothing in LeBrun’s report suggests Larkin is ready to do that.

The Card Detroit Still Holds

That leaves the Red Wings with one card of their own: the suspension. Larkin has been sitting at home without pay since Oct. 29, and the club has no obligation to change that while it waits for a deal it likes.

The cost of that wait isn’t only financial. Larkin has played just five career playoff games, all in his rookie season. If his goal is to finally compete in the spring, every week without a deal makes that harder, and the longer the standoff goes, the more his own list stands in the way.

The NHL has already seen a version of this play out. Connor Hellebuyck held his ground in Winnipeg, but his standoff ended only when the Jets found a deal they could live with. Detroit can take the same approach.

How Detroit Should Play Its Hand

Holding the card isn’t the same as doing nothing. The Red Wings should keep their conversations with the outside teams active, so the best available offer is ready the moment the list changes. If Larkin eventually opens the door to Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, or Montreal, Detroit should be in a position to move within days, not weeks.

The club also shouldn’t stop pushing the teams already on the list. A stalemate gives those clubs a reason to improve their offers, especially if they believe Detroit is willing to outlast Larkin. As we noted last week, the Red Wings can’t wait forever on a trade, but they also don’t need to blink first.

LeBrun’s poker game is still being played. Larkin has shown he won’t fold on his list. Now Detroit has to show it won’t fold on its price.