The Canadiens were rumored to be interested in Matthew Knies using the same package Kent Hughes attempted, and Dylan Larkin’s name is now being associated with Montreal this summer.
According to Arpon Basu on The Basu & Godin Notebook podcast, Hughes extended his near-miss Knies transaction by presenting a comparable offer package to a number of clubs this offseason.
Alex Zharovsky, another prospect, and two first-round selections make up the package.
Knies had 66 points in 79 games for a Toronto club that finished 32-36-14 during the season. That’s 28th overall in the league. He went -8 in his final five games alone.
With 106 points, Montreal concluded the regular season in sixth position overall in the NHL with a 48-24-10 record. The team is not buying in a panic. Hughes is on the hunt.
Larkin formally asked Detroit for a trade. He’s still a real top-line center at 29, with 67 points in 74 games, an $8.7 million cap hit, and nine game-winning goals, and he produces on the power play.
The issue? A fire sale is not being conducted by Steve Yzerman.
Yzerman’s price tag may exclude Montreal from the Larkin competition.
With 92 points, the Red Wings came in 16th overall with a 41-31-10 record. That’s a team that’s trying to return to the running, not one that’s trying to disassemble. On the podcast, Basu made it clear that Yzerman wants NHL-ready players to be included, not just draft money and teenagers.
For Montreal, that completely changes the calculus. You might be able to get Knies with a couple of prospects and two first-rounders. Unless you include a real NHLer in the agreement, it probably won’t get you Larkin.
And this is where things become awkward for Hughes. Three untouchables are obvious: With a +29 rating, Cole Caufield scored 88 points and 51 goals this season. Over 82 games, Juraj Slafkovsky tallied 73 points. Ivan Demidov, who was on an entry-level contract that paid less than a million dollars, ended up with 62 points as a 20-year-old rookie.
A move like trading any of those three players for a 29-year-old center under a maximum contract may appear daring on draft night, but it will come back to haunt you when his deal expires.
The genius of the Kneis package was that it spared all three. It prompted Yzerman to develop with young talent and selections. At this moment, he doesn’t have a mandate to do that.
It’s tough to dispute Basu’s own reservations regarding the Larkin fit. The fact that Detroit finished last in its previous 10 games of the season with a 2-6-2 record does not indicate a team that is prepared to completely restart around lottery tickets and prospects.
Hughes is clearly giving it his all. That aspect is encouraging. However, “pushing hard” and “landing the deal” are two very distinct concepts, and the disparity between Montreal’s willingness to give and Detroit’s need to receive seems genuine.
Caufield and Larkin would make a great team. The issue is the true cost of learning.
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