Red Wings: What Would a Contract Extension Look Like For Dylan Larkin?

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It was reported this off-season that the Detroit Red Wings were listening to calls on the current captain, Dylan Larkin. Since that point in the off-season, things have seemed to change. So what are the Red Wings plans with the captain?

The Detroit Red Wings have a lot of decisions to make this upcoming off-season with potentially 11 current Red Wings players set to hit free agency. Now, to most people they see two options with that in mind.

First, they feel that they will re-sign a majority of the players set to be free agents. Now, I’m assuming that the people who are saying are going to want to see how this seasons plays out before committing to the idea of this. And that’s fair. And I’m assuming that the same goes for the second idea that I have which is- they probably think that they’ll let a majority of them walk. But there is a third option which puts us at what this article is about- what do they do with Dylan Larkin?

This is the final year with Larkin under contract, and so for that reason, the Red Wings fielding calls for him was an easy decision. However, since that point in time, things have seemed to change. And now, it would appear that the Red Wings are going to look to extend Dylan Larkin to keep him around.

The Red Wings were going into the off-season thinking that they weren’t ready to compete and so this is the perfect year to give some of their young guys a chance to make the team and see minutes on the ice. But that’s when things went a little crazy.

The Ottawa Senators, who are in a similar stage as the Red Wings, went out and traded for superstar forward, Alex DeBrincat. That trade showed the entire league, the Senators mean business. But, the Red Wings decided to use that trade to re-evaluate their team which led us to the crazy off-season.

The Red Wings went out and signed David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp, Olli Maatta, and Dominik Kubalik. Additionally, they traded for goalie, Ville Husso. Those moves showed the league that the Red Wings are ready to take the step forward which is to compete for a playoff spot. And so they shall. However, the question remains, what is the plan with Dylan Larkin? And if they keep him around, what would an extension look like for the captain?

Dylan Larkin. Captain of the Detroit Red Wings. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

What Will Dylan Larkin’s Extension Look Like?

Dylan Larkin is undoubtedly going to be a Red Wing for the upcoming season. Trading Larkin after every move they made this off-season would confuse just about every hockey fan in the world. I mean, the Red Wings are now in a spot that they could compete for a place in the wild card. I don’t think they can make the playoffs to the point that they would get in with ease, so that leaves the wild card.

So, looking ahead, what are the Red Wings going to do with Larkin? Going into this off-season, the Red Wings were originally hearing offers on the captain, but now things are different. So instead of potentially looking to trade him, he will now remain a Red Wing for this season. And that means a contract extension seems inevitable.

So, now this is where things get tricky. With $8,000,000 available in cap, the Red Wings aren’t without room. Except they do need to extend Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond as well. So, finding the cap space to sign him will be tricky. But not impossible. So here’s what I think an extension could look like for Larkin.

Contract A: 7yrs/$59,500,000($8,500,000 AAV(Front Loaded))

This contract would be built around the idea of back loading Seider and Raymond’s contracts. It gives the Red Wings some flexibility with Larkin in the later stages of his career. With age comes regression. Very rarely will someone be able to play for a long period of time and maintain a high level of play. So with this contract they would have the ability to restructure or need to clear cap space.

The reason Larkin would agree to this contract is nothing short of the longevity. Giving Larkin seven years in Detroit, the team he grew up rooting, it would take him into his mid 30s and would allow him to be a Red Wing for the majority of his career.

Contract B: 4yrs/$40,000,000($10,000,000 AAV)

This contract here I feel is the better option for both parties. Larkin would be paid in the top half of the league for four years, and the Red Wings would get to hold onto their captain till he’s 30 and then re-evaluate his talent and how long they want to continue holding onto him. If it were me, and this contract worked for both parties, this definitely seems like the way to go.

Must Read. The Red Wings Mis-Steps From the Off-Season. light

Time will tell what a contract will end up looking like for Dylan Larkin however, I feel these two options are pretty realistic.

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