The Detroit Red Wings have signed center and captain Dylan Larkin to an eight-year contract extension with an $8.7M cap hit.
There were rumors earlier in the season that the Wings may not want to pay Larkin as much as he wants, and might look to move him before the deadline, but the two parties have managed to come to an agreement to keep the captain in Detroit for the long term.
Larkin was in the final year of a five-year deal with a $6.1M cap hit, making him a UFA at the end of the year. His new contract comes with no signing bonuses, so all of it will be paid on a per-game basis throughout each season.
His new deal will give him the same cap hit as Columbus Blue Jackets’ winger Patrik Laine and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, and is tied with them for the 38th largest cap hit in the league.
Larkin is having one of the best seasons of his career, scoring 22 goals, 35 assists, and 57 points in 59 games. It’s at an almost identical pace to his two previous best seasons in 2018-19 where he had 73 points in 76 games and in 2021-22 where he had 69 points in 71 games.
Larkin was selected 15th overall by the Red Wings in the 2014 NHL Draft, and has spent the entirety of his eight-season career in Detroit.
He was one of the rare Red Wings prospects to make the team in just his second year after the draft, and was named the captain for the 2020-21 season after Henrik Zetterberg had to stop playing due to a degenerative back condition.
A Michigan native, Larkin still has yet to play for a team outside of Michigan (excluding international play). His minor hockey team was Detroit Belle Tire, the USA Hockey National Development Program calls Michigan home, and he spent his college career with the Michigan Wolverines.
His professional career has either been played with the Red Wings or the Grand Rapids Griffins, who also play in Michigan.
The signing should be a big morale boost to both Larkin and the Red Wings as they look to chase down their first playoff appearance since 2016.
They are currently 28-24-8 and five points out of the final wild card spot, although they are currently on a three-game losing streak that has seen them be outscored 15-3.
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