Red Wings Extend Larkin for Eight Years

With the NHL’s trade deadline looming, the Detroit Red Wings signed pending unrestricted free agent captain Dylan Larkin to an eight-year contract extension on Wednesday.

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today signed captain Dylan Larkin to an eight-year contract extension with an annual average value of $8.7 million.

📰 » https://t.co/iKNgguAvmP pic.twitter.com/1UriDGIXZd

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 1, 2023

Per CapFriendly, the deal includes a full no-trade clause for the first five seasons and a modified no-trade clause for the final three.

My initial reaction when the rumored deal broke earlier today was that the AAV was too high.  That $8.7 million feels like a ton to me.  Having sat with it for a bit, though, I think part of that reaction is that we haven’t seen the Red Wings need to pay for a player of Larkin’s calibre in a long time.  Players like Larkin don’t go for $7 million/year anymore.  If anything, the underlying numbers may show this to be a bit of a bargain.

Over the last two seasons Dylan Larkin has blossomed into a player averaging 2.8 wins. If he can keep that up he’ll be well worth $8.7 million per year where the expectation is closer to 2.2 wins per season. pic.twitter.com/iaoMaI90lV

— dom 🕰️ (@domluszczyszyn) March 1, 2023

That said, in the words of It’s Not the Ref host Guido Piraino, has any eight year deal looked good in the end in the NHL?  Larkin will be 34 when this deal ends, who knows what he or the team will look like at that point.