- Elliotte Friedman says the Sabres have tried to get into the Dylan Larkin trade market
- Buffalo is not among the 10 teams on Larkin’s approved list
- Read below for Friedman’s full comments and the cap problem in the way
The Sabres are trying to crash the Dylan Larkin trade party.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Thursday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that he believes Buffalo has made a push to get in the mix for the Red Wings captain. Friedman recorded the comments before Detroit suspended Larkin without pay later in the day.
Friedman was discussing the teams in the Larkin sweepstakes and where the Sabres fit. They are not one of the 10 teams on his approved list.
“Now we’ve got 10 and maybe another one or two. It’s been reported, and I think it’s true, that Buffalo has tried to get in there,” Friedman said. “You know what the Sabres have to do? They have to schedule a game at home against Minnesota where every Sabres fan gets in there and yells ‘We want Larkin’ so they can get on the list too. You know, everybody’s trying.”
Here is the post for the episode:
The joke has a real point behind it. Larkin has a full no-trade clause, so the Red Wings can only deal him to a team he approves. Any offer from Buffalo would have to go through Larkin and his agent, Pat Brisson, first.
Money is the other obstacle. Larkin is 30 and carries an $8.7 million cap hit through 2030-31. Interim GM Shawn Horcoff already said it is difficult to fit a salary like that into the teams on his list, and he is prepared to wait as long as it takes.
Detroit made its position clear Thursday afternoon. Larkin is done playing for the team, and the Red Wings are shopping him.
Every day he sits costs Larkin more than $41,000 in pay. That is real pressure on him to widen the list, and it could eventually put Buffalo in play. Our earlier post on Larkin saying he has had enough has the full timeline on how the standoff got here.
Buffalo is on the outside looking in, and no offer matters until Larkin adds the Sabres to his list.
