The Detroit Red Wings are staring at one heck of a fork in the road. While there doesn’t seem to be much of a chance of winning a Dylan Larkin trade, the organization controls a great deal of how the eventual deal works out.
And if the Red Wings botch it, the outcome could doom them to a rebuild.
That statement may seem hyperbolic. But the fact is that everyone expects the team to make gallons of lemonade from the giant lemon they've been handed this offseason. If they can’t, there’s no telling how much that situation could set the organization back.
Let’s assume for a minute that the Red Wings get a couple of first-round picks and mid-tier prospects. Unless those picks figure to be in the top five in the coming drafts, there’s no real sense in taking them.
Even if those picks were guaranteed to be top three, they would still be futures. It could be years before the Red Wings see any benefit from accepting that return.
Meanwhile, the club has Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond entering their primes just now. They’re looking to contend right at this moment. That’s why futures don’t really make sense for the Red Wings.
The team needs immediate help now. Unless there’s a disgruntled top-line center out there that we don’t know about, it will be tough for the Red Wings to find a suitable replacement.
There might be, nonetheless, a way for the Red Wings to dig themselves] out of the situation they're in.
Red Wings could weaponize whatever they get in return for Larkin
Let’s assume for a minute that the Red Wings cannot get much beyond futures for Larkin. Let’s also assume it’s an absolute haul, but pretty much consisting of draft picks and prospects.
The team could turn around and weaponize those picks in order to acquire a suitable replacement. That idea sounds good on paper. But there’s no telling if a proper replacement for Larkin would be on the market.
Yes, the Red Wings could target someone like Jason Robertson. But he would only be a part of the solution. The fact is that the Red Wings need a number-one center. And, well, we all know those are pretty hard to come by.
That picture paints a bleak outlook for Detroit. While the Red Wings are in no rush to move Larkin, they will have to make something happen sooner rather than later. The longer the situation simmers, the greater the chance it will begin to fester.
There might be something here we’re not seeing. So, a major late-summer move is one we can’t rule out.
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