Three ways Detroit Red Wings GM Holland screwed up the Larkin deal
By Ash Thompson
The Detroit Red Wings have signed Dylan Larkin to a five-year contract with a $6.1 million AAV. Ken Holland has once again forfeited the team’s future.
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that Center Dylan Larkin has signed a five-year contract. Larkin, a 22-year-old center who led the team in points, was by far the most important re-signing among the Red Wings restricted free agents.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has reported that the deal carries an average annual value of $6.1 million. That AAV is about what has been expected. It is in line with what other similar players have received.
Larkin is very obviously the lynchpin to general manager Ken Holland‘s rebuild. Everything else about the process is reliant on the presence, and continued performance of Larkin.
There was no question that this deal needed to get done. Larkin is an ascending star, and well regarded among league circles. This is the Red Wings All-Star game representative for the immediate future. This deal does have a few tricky ramifications though.
The Locker room
Larkin is now the team’s highest paid player by far. He will make more than double the salary of team captain Henrik Zetterberg. That may not sound like it is incredibly important given Zetterberg’s lengthy service to the team, but the locker room dynamic is going to change. Whether Zetterberg continues to play or not, this is Larkin’s team now.
That may be a moot point, with Zetterberg openly considering retirement as early as tomorrow. But if the two men are both in the Wings locker room this season, there will be tension. There always are in periods of change.