The Golden Knights’ move to send Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers was supposed to be about draft capital, with the real motive being to avoid paying him $11 million AAV. However you frame it, Kelly McCrimmon had his reasons for making the deal, even if it stirred up plenty of debate.
What it also did was complicate any idea of Vegas chasing Dylan Larkin.
Frank Seravalli addressed the fallout on Frankly Hockey, saying the Golden Knights are trying to work through the numbers on a possible deal with the Red Wings. As he put it, "They're mathing out, how do we keep Rasmus Andersson and go after Dylan Larkin, I just don't know what Steve Yzerman can get from Vegas, what moves the needle."
That’s the problem in a nutshell: the Golden Knights simply don’t look like a team that can easily fit Larkin’s price tag. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal pointed to the obstacles, including Tomas Hertl’s trade list and William Karlsson being a team staple. Those realities make any potential path to Detroit a tough one for Vegas to navigate.
And losing Dorofeyev only makes it harder. The Red Wings would have had real interest in a young winger like him, especially with their own need to add more scoring. Without that kind of piece in the mix, the framework of a possible deal gets even thinner.
Yzerman’s asking price is no secret either. The Minnesota Wild offer stands as the example here, with Yzerman asking for Matt Boldy and Minnesota refusing. That’s the kind of hard line that makes it clear why teams like Vegas would have a difficult time meeting his demands.
For now, the Dylan Larkin chatter is fun, but the smarter play might be to wait until the trade deadline gets closer. Prices tend to settle down then, and the Golden Knights might have a better chance. Even that depends on a lot of moving parts, including whether the Red Wings are still contending, so there’s no reason to expect anything soon.
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For Vegas, it is the kind of move that fits the identity the franchise has long preferred from its depth teams: steady, physical and hard to play against. Hickeys background also brings a little extra weight to the role, with a third-round pedigree from Calgary and past time representing Team Canada on the international stage, even as Henderson keeps leaning on the same gritty edge he has provided for years. [Read more 🡒]
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Piiparinen filled out a questionnaire during the week, and the answers helped sketch out a little more of his personality and hockey taste. From the players and moments he singled out to the small personal details he shared, it was the kind of glimpse that makes a young prospect feel a little more real, even if the biggest parts of his story in Vegas are still ahead. [Read more 🡒]