Dylan Larkin could be wearing a Canadiens sweater this season. Kent Hughes reportedly had a deal in place with Detroit.
Montreal columnist Maxime Truman reported this morning that Hughes and the Red Wings reached an agreement over the summer. Larkin shut it down.
The Red Wings forward holds a no-trade clause. He had zero interest in waiving it for a Canadian market, Montreal very much included.
The reason stings. Fans in Winnipeg went after Connor Hellebuyck's wife following the 4 Nations and the Olympics, simply because the couple is American.
Every American player in the league watched that unfold. Larkin, 30, carries an $8,700,000 cap hit and has the leverage to choose where he plays.
Then came Tuesday night. A section of the Bell Centre booed Chris Kreider and Kirby Dach during a 6-4 loss to the Hurricanes.
Kreider, 35, has four points through three games and still gets jeered over a grudge that's a decade old. Boos during the American anthem have become a familiar sound, too.
Bell Centre boos could cost the Canadiens Hutson and Caufield
Here's what should keep Kent Hughes up at night. Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield are both American, and both sit at the heart of this core.
Hutson, 22, opened the season with a +2 rating on an $8,850,000 deal. He's the engine of the blue line, and the bench leans on him every single shift it can.
Caufield has two goals already. Truman says the 25-year-old sniper really doesn't enjoy hearing his anthem booed.
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So what happens the next time a star American has to fill out a no-trade list?
Booing the anthem is a bad look and an even worse strategy. Fans angry at Donald Trump are aiming it at players who wear their own logo.
It's like hosting a dinner party and insulting the guests' families at the door. Word travels, and agents talk to each other constantly.
The timing hurts, too. Montreal sits 1-1-1 after two straight losses, and the blue line still lacks the right-shot defenceman everyone in town knows it needs.
Hughes hasn't added an NHL-calibre defenceman since signing Noah Dobson. The Larkin rejection shows how much harder that shopping gets when the targets are American.
Larkin gets a firsthand look Saturday night. The Red Wings hit the Bell Centre on the back end of a back-to-back, after hosting Seattle on Friday.
He has two points in his only game this season. How the crowd greets him might tell Hutson and Caufield more than any contract pitch ever could.
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Should Canadiens fans stop booing the American anthem at the Bell Centre?
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