Wednesday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings announced that the team and Dylan Larkin have agreed to an eight-contract extension with an average annual value of $8.7 million.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that the Detroit Red Wings and captain Dylan Larkin were progressing toward a contract extension Wednesday morning.
With Larkin owning a no-trade clause in the final year of the five-year contract he signed back in 2018, he held a lot of leverage in negotiations. According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, Larkin’s new deal does not include any signing bonuses.
The 26-year-old center is on pace to have the best offensive season of his career, scoring 22 goals and 35 assists in 59 games. Before their recent skid, Larkin was the heartbeat of the Red Wings’ hot streak that put them back into the playoff conversation, scoring six goals and six assists in only six games. Over the past five seasons, Larkin has been the Red Wings’ most important player in all situations.
In 563 career games with the Red Wings, Larkin has scored 169 goals and 246 assists. While the Red Wings haven’t been in the playoff picture throughout his career, Dylan Larkin is one of the most driven players in the sport.
The Red Wings’ current roster construction is geared toward players such as Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond; top-line centers are hard to come by. With no chance at a top-six center in the Red Wings’ system outside of 2022 eighth-overall pick Marco Kasper, it feels as if retaining Larkin was necessary.
Although eight-year contracts usually end up aging poorly in the latter parts of the deal, Dylan Larkin will likely be a vital piece of the Red Wings throughout its entirety.
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Yzerman really had no choice but having said that I do think that this is a fair deal for Larkin and for the Red Wings. Hope it works out well for both!