Scott Laughton may be headed for a payday that catches a few people off guard.
Chris Johnston said on TSN First Up that the pending UFA could land a deal bigger than the one many around the league have been projecting. “I’m sure the Kings want to keep him but…he’ll be one of those guys I would wager that when we see his number on July 1st, he’s gonna get a contract beyond what we were talking about.”
Johnston wasn’t the only insider pointing to a market that could move in unexpected directions. Frank Seravalli said on Frankly Hockey that John Carlson’s talks with the Carolina Hurricanes could run longer than a simple three-year arrangement. “This might actually stretch out longer than three , that’s at least what the Cans are trying to propose…four, maybe even longer; Chris Tanev style deal.”
Connor Hellebuyck is also drawing plenty of attention, even if the chase is still in the early stages. Darren Dreger said on TSN that interested teams are still trying to work through the possibilities creatively, with some of the usual suspects still in the mix as “tire kickers.”
He said, “So, all parties who are interested in Hellebuyck continue to work at it. They’re trying to be as creative as they can be.
Many of the teams that we speculated on remain kind of there as tire kickers, with the exception of the Panthers, and there’s some curiosity around the Carolina Hurricanes. Less so around the New Jersey Devils, there was that speculation when Markstrom got moved.”
In Detroit, David Perron and the Red Wings are still talking, and Perron remains open to coming back. Even so, Seravalli said the expectation is that he reaches free agency at noon.
The Red Wings’ bigger issue remains Dylan Larkin. Dreger said that if Larkin gets moved, Vincent Trocheck is likely not far behind, and he noted that some teams have circled back to the New York Rangers about Trocheck. Larkin, though, still hasn’t been willing to widen his list.
“That puts the Detroit Red Wings in a real bind here. They know what they need to replace the talent of Larkin. They can’t go backwards in a deal like this.”
If Detroit can’t line up a move and Larkin won’t expand his list, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings expect him to report to training camp, even if that would make for an awkward situation.
In Other News...
This Free Agent Could Fix A Red Wings Problem Fast
With cap space to work with, the Red Wings are in position to chase a roster upgrade when free agency opens, and one name to keep an eye on is a winger who has quietly built a reputation as a reliable two-way piece. He has turned in solid offensive production in recent seasons while also handling the defensive side of the job, which makes him a tidy fit for a team that wants more balance without sacrificing structure.
For Detroit, the appeal is obvious because the move would not require a top-line role to make sense. A player like this could slide into the bottom six and help on the penalty kill, giving the club a clearer answer in areas that have needed reinforcement. The catch is that if he reaches the market, he should have no shortage of suitors, so the Red Wings may need to move quickly to turn interest into a deal. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Just Lost A Center Option Fans Were Watching
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For a team still sorting through its center picture, the loss matters because the market is already narrowing. Elias Pettersson has been mentioned as a possibility, though he would come at a steep price, and the idea of using future assets from a Dylan Larkin deal to chase younger names like Shane Wright or Matty Beniers may be part of the long game. For now, though, one of the more appealing options is gone, and Detroit keeps having to move on to the next possibility. [Read more 🡒]
Yzerman Just Made A Forward Move Red Wings Fans Will Debate
Steve Yzerman keeps looking for ways to thicken the Red Wings forward group, and this latest move fits that pattern. Detroit added Keegan Kolesar from the Vegas Golden Knights, a depth winger who has spent his entire NHL career in one uniform and arrives with two years left on his contract at a $2.5 million cap hit.
The price was a 2029 third-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick, the kind of cost that suggests the Wings see a useful fit rather than a splashy swing. Kolesar has been a reliable bottom-six presence for Vegas, which is exactly the sort of profile that can divide a fan base: some will see a practical addition to the roster, while others will wonder whether Detroit has spent draft capital on a player whose ceiling is already well defined. [Read more 🡒]