The Canadiens are being mentioned in the same breath as Dylan Larkin, and that alone tells you how far this conversation has moved. Darren Dreger said fair offers are on the table for both Larkin and Simon Edvinsson, with Montreal right in the middle of the speculation.
That doesn’t mean Detroit is staring at a deal it can’t turn down. Dreger’s point was more measured than that: these are legitimate proposals, but not the kind that would leave the Red Wings with no choice.
Montreal’s interest fits the way Kent Hughes has been operating. He hasn’t hidden his push to add talent, and David Pagnotta previously reported three trade attempts involving the Canadiens GM, a sign of how hard he’s gone after a top-end forward. The speculation has naturally pointed toward Larkin, even though Dreger did not confirm any specific offer.
The Canadiens hardly look like a team in need of rescue, either. They’re 11-3-3, have gone 8-0-2, and beat Toronto 4-2 on Saturday.
Adding Larkin would simply give an already dangerous group another weapon. The 30-year-old hasn’t had a spectacular start in Detroit, but he still has 278 career goals.
Detroit’s side of the picture is messier. The Red Wings are 24th in the NHL at 7-8-3, have lost three in a row, and were shut out 4-0 in Colorado on Saturday. That’s the kind of stretch that forces a front office to listen, even if it doesn’t rush into anything.
Edvinsson brings a different set of questions. The 23-year-old defenseman, taken sixth overall in 2021, has 60 points in 175 career games, but he hasn’t played this season.
He’s listed as injured during a contract dispute, and there’s no timetable for his return. In that situation, it makes sense that other teams would probe Detroit’s willingness to move him.
The Montreal chatter picked up another layer Sunday when Jake Evans said someone would have to be crazy not to want to play in Montreal. Fans immediately linked that remark to Larkin, though nothing in Dreger’s reporting confirmed that connection.
Even so, an offer from Hughes doesn’t automatically mean a trade is coming.
“And I believe that there are fair offers, but they’re not home run offers for both Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson.”
Montreal hosts Minnesota tonight, but the bigger storyline may be happening off the ice. Hughes may already have Detroit’s attention. The question now is whether he can put together a package strong enough to make the Red Wings seriously blink.
In Other News...
Canadiens Sent A Clear Message As Tension Rose Behind Closed Doors
A closed-door meeting after the loss to Winnipeg set the tone for what followed at Canadiens practice, where the focus shifted quickly from frustration to accountability. The next session had the feel of a team trying to reset in a hurry, with Cole Caufield among the players putting in extra work in a rebound-control drill as Montreal looked to clean up the details that had been costing it.
The response showed up in the standings, too, as Montreal came back to beat Toronto in its next game and give its season a better feel in the crowded NHL picture. For a group that had just been dealing with tension behind closed doors, the sequence was a reminder that sometimes the message lands best when it is followed by a sharper practice and a win that lets everyone breathe a little easier. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Have A Goalie Decision They Cant Ignore
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Martin St-Louis may soon have to decide how to distribute the starts among Fowler, Dobes and Samuel Montembeault, whose status adds another layer to the discussion. Montreal does not need to settle the entire future of its netminding situation this week, but it does need a plan, and the way it handles this stretch could say plenty about which goalie is earning more trust as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Arber Xhekaj Just Added Real Edge To Canadiens-Leafs Again
Arber Xhekaj did what he has a habit of doing against the Maple Leafs: he turned a routine game into something with a little more bite. The Canadiens defenseman was left frustrated by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Montreals latest meeting with Toronto, and he made it clear afterward that he believed officials may have gotten the call wrong. Martin St-Louis also took issue with the ruling, adding another layer to a sequence that already had the feel of a familiar Canadiens-Leafs flashpoint.
What bothered Xhekaj even more was what happened to Kirby Dach during the same sequence, when the play escalated into a two-on-one situation. For Montreal, it was another reminder of how quickly these games can tilt from competitive to combustible, especially when Xhekaj is involved and the Canadiens feel they have a reason to push back. The result is an unresolved little subplot that could easily carry into the next time these teams see each other. [Read more 🡒]