Detroit Red Wings: Rumors: Update on Dylan Larkin

The Detroit Red Wings are currently in talks with Dylan Larkin on a long-term contract extension.  Dylan Larkin is the foundation of the Red Wings franchise and the most critical player to lock up long term.

The Detroit Red Wings are trying to lock up Dylan Larkin to a long-term contract Per Craig Custance of the Athletic.  It makes complete sense as Larkin will be a top candidate to become the next captain of the Detroit Red Wings.  Detroit doesn’t want to sign Larkin to a one-year deal and do this all over again next summer. This quote is from a story Craig Custance wrote;

“It’s got to make sense for the team as well as myself,” Larkin said. “I don’t want to be a burden on the cap or for the team. I really want to do something that — obviously it’s my future, when I want to have a family later in life, it’s something that can be pretty significant — but I also want to win and I want to be on a team that can have good players and can be competitive.”

Larkin with a bright future on the horizon seems like he has a great head on his shoulders.  It bodes well for the direction Red Wings are headed as a franchise and the agenda of Dylan Larkin.  That quote speaks volumes about this kid’s attitude and mindset.  It’s a”captain-type” quote.

Larkin potentially the successor to the great Henrik Zetterberg led the Detroit Red Wings in Points last season.  Larkin played in all of Detroit’s 82 games scoring 16 goals adding 47 assists totaling a team-leading 63 points in 2017/18.

Signing Larkin long term should be a priority and signing Larkin long term now could work out as a team friendly deal if he develops to his full potential.   Dylan Larkin today is Detroit’s number one center.  Although Larkin needs to improve more as a goal scorer, he excels as a passer.

Larkin has improved on his defensive game.  Jeff Blashill relied on Larkin in the defensive zone last year enough that he started more 5 on 5 shifts in his own territory rather than in the offensive zone.  Larkin started 51% of his shifts in his own zone last year which has improved tremendously over the previous two seasons.  Two seasons ago Larkin only started 39% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

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Dylan Larkin in the faceoff circle has improved year after year as well.  His rookie year he was only 41% successful on faceoffs, last season Larkin was 50%.   One statistic that shows up that needs improvement is goals for and goals against while Larkin is on the ice (plus/minus).

Last year Larkin was on the ice 74 times while opponents scored.  Detroit only scored 64 goals while he was on the ice.  It’s more of a team stat or the entire line on the ice than an individual stat but Larkin will be centering the number one line this season, and they better score more often then they are getting scored upon.

Regarding the salary and contract extension, Capfriendly.com has Detroit sitting currently with 2.827 Million in cap space.  Dylan Larkin on a long-term deal will be efforting around 6AAV maybe even 7 per over 6 or 7 years.  Don’t forget like many years in a row now, Johan Franzen will be placed on LTR ( Long Term Injury Reserve).  That will free up almost 4 million in cap space.

By doing this that creates about 6.80 million or so to give Larkin that long extension.  There is no doubt that Detroit wants to lock up Larkin and should have it done soon.  Larkin the brightest bulb in the pack at this moment for the Detroit Red Wings franchise.  Larkin has room for improvement; we saw a bounce-back season last year, all we can hope for is an improvement in all areas of his game.

If you’re going to make 6 million or more per season, you need to produce on a regular basis.  There is no reason with his talent that Larkin can’t be a 20 goal scorer and 50 assist player year after year moving forward.

If your a regular 70 point player and reliable in all phases of the game, killing penalties your worthy of that type of contract.  Larkin has yet to peak, but it will be fun to watch him grow moving forward as he heads towards wearing a letter on his chest for the Detroit Red Wings.  Until then we will continue to wait patiently until a deal gets completed.