During the NHL offseason, Dylan Larkin’s trade request has opened the door to plenty of speculation, and the Vegas Golden Knights remain part of the conversation.
The former Detroit Red Wings captain is signed through 2031 and holds a full no-movement clause, so any move would have to line up with his wishes. His original list of preferred destinations was short and included Vegas, and recent reports say he has since expanded that list while still keeping the reigning Western Conference champions in the mix.
That leaves Kelly McCrimmon with a familiar kind of dilemma: chase an elite center or let him land with someone else. If Vegas is serious, there are real reasons to push. There are also obvious hurdles.
The biggest reason to swing for Larkin is the offense he would bring. He has spent 11 seasons in the NHL and has become a reliable goal producer, with six seasons of 30 goals or more.
Last season, he set a career high with 34. In 808 games, he has piled up 276 goals, along with 86 power-play goals, nine shorthanded goals and 40 game-winners.
He has only reached a point-per-game pace once, but he has still scored at least 30 goals in five straight seasons.
That kind of finishing touch matters for a Golden Knights team that may need another source of offense. Pavel Dorofeyev led Vegas with 35 and 37 goals over the past two years before being traded to the New York Rangers, and unless Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner or someone else gets to 30, the club is looking for another weapon. Larkin would give them one.
The problem is the money.
Larkin carries an $8.5 million AAV through the 2030-31 season, and Vegas simply does not have the room right now. The Golden Knights are currently a little more than $600,000 over the cap before their final cuts, so they cannot absorb that contract as things stand.
To make a deal work, McCrimmon would likely have to move a significant contract of his own. Names like Ivan Barbashev at $5 million, William Karlsson at $5.9 million and Jeremy Lauzon at $4 million are the type of pieces that could be in play.
That said, those are not the only possibilities. Vegas could also have to consider moving Tomas Hertl, Nic Dowd or even Shea Theodore if Detroit needs a bigger financial sweetener.
Another route would involve LTIR, because realistically that may be the cleanest way to fit Larkin in.
Still, if Vegas can find a way, the payoff would be obvious. After a relatively quiet summer without a blockbuster move, there have been questions about whether this roster is good enough to win the Stanley Cup.
Larkin would answer a lot of them quickly. He would also keep the Golden Knights in the familiar role of a team other fanbases love to hate, because they keep landing big names and staying in the title picture.
And while Connor Hellebuyck is not going to Vegas - a development that would have made 31 other fanbases miserable - Larkin would be a strong consolation prize. With Eichel already anchoring the top line, Larkin could step into the second-line center role and skate with Marner. That combination has the look of something dangerous, and it could put Larkin on a path toward 40 goals while keeping the Golden Knights in the hunt for a second Stanley Cup next spring.
In Other News...
Three Golden Knights Still Have Something To Prove Before Final Cuts
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Adin Hill, Alexander Holtz and Rasmus Andersson are the three who stand out here, each carrying a different kind of pressure as the preseason winds down. Their recent play has put them under the microscope, and with final cuts looming, the last exhibition is less about getting through the schedule and more about showing the staff enough to make the call an easy one. [Read more 🡒]
Adin Hill Adds To Golden Knights Concerns As Final Cuts Loom
With the Golden Knights closing in on their 23-man roster, the last stretch of camp has started to feel less like evaluation and more like sorting out the details that will shape the early part of the season. Juho Piiparinen has already been sent to the OHLs London Knights after training camp, and there is still a spotlight on Trevor Connelly, the 2024 first-round pick who is getting a chance to skate with established players as the club decides how it wants to line up for Tuesdays opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The bigger concern, though, is in goal, where Adin Hill had a rough outing in a recent preseason game at a time when the Golden Knights could use calm and clarity. Preseason results do not always carry over, but with opening night looming and roster decisions nearing, Hills form is one of the details Vegas will be watching closely as it tries to settle the final pieces of its lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Near Final Lineup Test Before Opening Night
The Golden Knights have reached the point in training camp where the experiments start to give way to answers. With one preseason game left before the regular season begins, Vegas is trying to make the most of a shortened runway and settle into the kind of rhythm it will need once the games count for real.
San Jose is expected to provide the closest look yet at what opening night could resemble, with lineups likely near the final version. For a team that wants to find its game quickly, this last exhibition is less about easing in and more about confirming which pieces fit before the schedule turns serious. [Read more 🡒]