Shawn Horcoff’s role in Detroit is starting to shape the conversation around two of the team’s biggest situations, and Chris Johnston says that may be a big reason neither one has moved quickly.
According to Johnston on TSN, Horcoff is trying to land the best possible return in talks involving Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson, and that process has slowed things down. Horcoff is effectively working while also trying to prove he deserves the full-time GM job, which raises the stakes on every decision.
“Right now, it remains where it’s been. The 10 teams Horcoff feels has to work with, there’s not a good enough deal to make there. He believes that there’s better deals to be found from other teams, but Larkin will not expand that list.
As for Edvinsson, Dec. 1 remains an important date. He has to have a contract by that point and time which will put a little bit of pressure on the player and the team as it gets a little closer. So, I think that’s a little more likely to see some form of resolution when it comes to his situation.”
The Edvinsson situation carries its own deadline pressure, with Dec. 1 standing out as the key date. Larkin, meanwhile, is holding firm on the teams he’ll consider, leaving Horcoff to keep searching for a deal that meets his standard.
Elsewhere, Andrei Vasilevskiy’s future with the Tampa Bay Lightning came up in a different context, and his agent, Dan Milstein, made it clear where the goalie stands.
Asked whether the Nikita Kucherov situation could affect Vasilevskiy’s future, Milstein pointed to the reality of handling multiple clients and multiple negotiations at once.
“Well, I have 69 clients in the NHL currently on NHL contracts, and the number is growing. And I believe we have clients on 27,28 teams, or something along those lines. So you know, sometimes you fight with, with the person, and then five seconds later, you pick up the phone and you talk about a different client.
So I mean, look, at this point in time, Andrei is extremely happy. He just like, he just like Nikita Kucherov (inaudible) this summer.
Wishes to finish his career as a Tampa Bay Lightning player. And the goal is to play 1,000 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
And I hope, and I can only hope because it’s only, you know, obviously it’s not up to us, that Andrei Vasilevskiy finishes his Hall of Fame career with one team.”
Milstein’s comments leave little doubt about Vasilevskiy’s preference. For now, he wants to stay in Tampa Bay, finish his career there, and reach 1,000 games in a Lightning uniform.
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