Dylan Larkin is out of the Detroit Red Wings lineup tonight, and the Montreal Canadiens keep popping up in the same conversation.
Todd McLellan said this morning that Shawn Horcoff will address the situation. That's all anyone got ahead of a 7:30 puck drop against Chicago.
Meanwhile, Kris Draper keeps turning up at Canadiens games. Montreal media are openly calling it an unusual sight, the Red Wings' assistant GM literally following the club around.
Eric Engels put it bluntly. Draper isn't making those trips because he enjoys watching the Canadiens play, and he wouldn't be there if it were totally impossible Larkin would consider Montreal.
Read that again. Consider is a very specific word, and it drops the player's own wishes right into the middle of this thing.
Sportsnet reports the Red Wings are heavily scouting the Canadiens, who have the assets to get a trade done. That kind of reporting doesn't die down by itself.
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Canadiens buzz puts Shawn Horcoff on the clock in Detroit
Horcoff has been running the Red Wings since September 15. He's already sitting on the loudest story in the Atlantic, and he's the one who has to talk next.
The standings won't calm anybody down. Detroit sits eighth in the division at 5-4-3, while the Canadiens are second at 7-3-2.
The head-to-head already tilts Montreal's way. The only meeting this season ended 1-0 for the Canadiens in a shootout on October 10, with the Red Wings held scoreless.
Montreal's roster is stuffed with young, cheap contracts. David Reinbacher is 22 and carries a $909,166 cap hit.
Then there's Jacob Fowler, 21, posting a .942 save percentage with two shutouts. A team getting that kind of goaltending on an entry-level deal starts thinking about windows, not timelines.
The scoring has been spread around too. Cole Caufield has six goals, and Zachary Bolduc has chipped in five.
Larkin's $8,700,000 cap hit is the biggest on Detroit's books. Montreal already pays Noah Dobson $9,500,000, and squeezing in another big number is never a clean math problem.
So why would Detroit even listen? Because a -4 goal differential through 12 games doesn't buy a brand-new GM much patience from anyone.
And here's where I land. Shipping a core forward to a division rival already six spots ahead of you is a terrible idea.
It's like selling your snowblower to the neighbor across the street in November. You'll be watching him clear his driveway all winter.
Tonight, the Red Wings face the Blackhawks without him. The Canadiens, riding a three-game winning streak, are in Dallas.
Horcoff gets the microphone next. Whatever he says, Draper's next trip to a Canadiens game will say more.
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Should the Red Wings trade Dylan Larkin to the Canadiens if Montreal meets the asking price?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Dylan Larkin trade talks have escalated, but a deal isn't necessarily imminent: LeBrun
