Until the day the trade happens, the offseason for the Detroit Red Wings and its fans centers entirely around Dylan Larkin.
The soon-to-be-former captain requested a trade from the Red Wings earlier this month after yet another year of missing the playoffs. Recently, Larkin evaporated all the goodwill he had by offering an insultingly small list of teams he'd like to play for in the future.
Now that Brady Tkachuk has found his way to the Florida Panthers, Larkin's hypothetical little list grows even smaller. So small, in fact, that it might just need to change in order to facilitate a trade.
Drew Livingstone of the Steve Dangle show believes there's a perfect candidate for Larkin: the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Gavin McKenna for Dylan Larkin
Helps Leafs win now and keep their stars happy. Helps Yzerman continue this rebuild in Detroit
Would Larkin waive to go to Toronto and join his Olympic captain?
Feels like something Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild are gonna be all over
Why the Red Wings would love this trade
If Steve Yzerman is offered this trade - and if Dylan Larkin gives it the okay - the Red Wings should take it immediately. The first overall pick would give the Red Wings the chance to draft Gavin McKenna, a potential franchise-altering center with the ability to take over games on his own. Adding McKenna with Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond would solidify a decade's worth of a young, exciting core for the Red Wings.
Consequently, Larkin would get a chance to play for the Maple Leafs, a team he's followed since he was a child. He'd even get the opportunity to play alongside his buddy, Auston Matthews, as the Maple Leafs retool in time for another run at the Stanley Cup.
A one-two punch of Matthews and Larkin followed by John Tavares would make any would-be contender salivate. It would take the pressure off Larkin's shoulders while giving Matthews a break from being the only consistently high-end center on the roster.
Larkin for McKenna extremely unlikely
That said, there's an extremely small chance of this ever happening. First, Larkin would need to approve a trade. If he's going to Toronto, he'd get to play with Matthews, but there's a chance the captain could be on the outs with the Leafs as early as next season. Second, the Maple Leafs would need to approve the trade, and, as much as Larkin brings to the table, he likely isn't worth the first overall pick.
It's a fun trade to speculate, but one that probably won't happen in the future. That said, it's a fun hypothetical win-win for both teams.
Add us as a preferred source on Google