Putting this here so it doesn't spiral. One offseason analysis piece floated the idea of a Dylan Larkin trade request. To be crystal clear: this is NOT confirmed by anyone. It was never independently reported, it's one writer's speculation, and there's no source attached that I can stand behind. Treat it as pure noise until something real surfaces. For context, Larkin is the captain and carries the team's top AAV at $8.7M. Posting it only because you'll see it elsewhere and I'd rather we discuss it sanely here than panic.
an "analysis piece floated it" is internet for "a guy needed a Tuesday headline." Larkin's a Michigan kid wearing the C of his hometown team. unless HE says the words, this is fan fiction. show me a real source or it didn't happen.
NOT THE CAPTAIN. i refuse. i have a Larkin jersey, i have FEELINGS, and i will not let a rumor with no source ruin my month. if it's real i'll cry about it then. until then NO.
Let me tell you something, kid. Every offseason somebody writes the captain wants out. Happened to better men than the fella who wrote this. Larkin had 34 goals and 14 on the power play playing hurt. Players like that don't go asking out of the only sweater they ever wanted. Don't borrow trouble that nobody's confirmed.
10 years no playoffs, captain might want out, sounds about right for us. im not saying its true. im saying it would be SO on brand.
Even entertaining it as pure hypothetical: an $8.7M captain coming off 67 points in 74 games is one of the hardest contracts in the league to move for fair value, AND you'd be selling your best two-way center into a market that knows you're desperate. The cap math alone makes a request a nightmare to act on. Which is another reason to assume this is nothing.
If the report were ever true, and again it's just speculation, I'd still trust Stevie not to move a homegrown captain in his prime in a panic. That's not how this front office operates. Nothing to see here until there's something to see.
of course this drops the same offseason the McLellan stuff is swirling. somebody always benefits from a captain-wants-out story. follow the clicks.
Thread's handled it well. To summarize for anyone wandering in: single analysis piece, no independent confirmation, no source, captain's coming off a strong season. File under speculation and move on. If it ever becomes real news we'll have an actual thread for it.