I didn't say it happens right now. This is a 2022-23 roster

Larkin is UFA in summer of 2023. Doubt if he wants to see good players traded away for futures. He'll want to be on a good team after being a Wing for eight years. If he sees the peak of the Wings is to distance in the future he won't want to stay

I think he'll be quite happy surrounded by Vrana, Zadina, Raymond, Seider, Hronek, etc. We'll be climbing out of the hole by then for sure.

he might not be here in 22-23
He's got 1 year left till he's a UFA. He signed a 1 year deal last year.
They should have paid him then. He's probably gone after this year.

Why are you handing out 5 and 7 million dollar contracts like it’s Monopoly money

He didn’t sign a 1 year deal last year, it was through arbitration. Arbitrators can do 3+ year deals.


That’s your speculation. You have no idea what motivates Larkin. Could be money, family, etc.

No, I don't know. But if after eight years a Wing, and the Wings keep trading good players in the trade scenario that was suggested, yea I think Larkin would say, I'm not resigning. But I disagreed with the scenario that the Wings are going to trade good young players for futures.

Larkin seems extremely close with his family so I think that’s a big motivator plus Detroit will have loads of cap/cash. I don’t see Yzerman trading young roster players for magic beans in the hopes of getting another roster player. The only player he’s done that too is AA and he isn’t a core piece or close to it. I also don’t agree with the value of Bertuzzi in this ACGM as I think he’ll return more. What Detroit really needs is lottery luck as no team has dropped more than Detroit in the current system. We have tons of depth but we need top end talent especially lottery luck in 2022 & 2023. The next three drafts will either set us up for a good run or make us a fringe team but Larkin will have a good idea where they’re headed.

Actually I think the Wings are a good position. With so many teams against the cap, and it looks like they will against the cap for years, the Wings could have lots of young good players AND cap space.
Money will talk, Detroit can still be a desirable place for NHLers to play.

he did sign a 1 year deal, for 2020-21 only.
It doesn't matter if it went though arbitration. He still had to sign it.
The fact that it went to arbitration and he only did a 1 year contract is very telling.
That doesn't exactly say "I want to be here long term"
why the hell would you even argue that.

You'll know every quickly on where this is going in the offseason. When he signs another 1 year deal he's gone.

Because I gave 2 contracts in those ranges?

Did you miss where I said I didn't put too much thought into contracts/salaries, but more into roster building (trades/draft)? Also, you may have missed that this team is still 23M under a flat cap 2 yrs from now?

I don’t think you understand how arbitration works. Bertuzzi elected for arbitration and therefore the club determines the length (one or two year). Since Bert was only cost controlled for two years the club elected for one year so he isn’t walked to UFA. He has to sign it per the CBA or he can go play in the KHL/SHL for peanuts of that contract and Detroit still retains his rights.

Why do you think Bertuzzi only wants one year? There’s no reports of him being disgruntled so you’re speculating with no evidence. He even said in his presser he wanted to work out a deal and that he hopes he can next offseason.

I don't think you get how it works.
You don't see guys who are sticking around go through arbitration. In general, that is a very bad sign. Matter of fact, if you hit arbitration, it usually means you're gone.
Everyone knows this.
There is player after player who has hit arbitration the year prior and the next year the are gone. This really is no different.
Do you understand what the arbitration hearing is like? Do you not realize there are reasons fall to **** after it?
They got him on a 1 year deal, because they couldn't get him longer. Oh sure they could have done a 2 year deal, but everyone knows he would have walked after. Which is why they didn't do it. But somehow you think he's going to stay?

They got him on a one year deal so the contract ends as a RFA not UFA. You keep speculating like your opinion is a fact and haven’t provided one source that says Bertuzzi isn’t happy. I provided a source (his contract press release) to back my point up. The only notable player recently is who, Trouba? It was widely known he didn’t want to play in Canada.

there are plenty of players who have gone through arbitration and left. Matter of fact that's the usual course. Because once guys sit in that it ruins the relationship.
As the team basically has to bad mouth the player as to why they should pay them less and everything falls apart from there.
You act like this is some kind of mystery

It’s not a mystery but rather your speculation. You don’t know how each arbitration case goes. What if the team went in there with comps and a statistical analysis to argue their case? Bert said “it’s no hard feelings and understands it’s a business and this will make try harder for his next contract” in the press conference I’ve mentioned. Some players want to leave and others don’t, you can’t put a blanket statement out there because there are tons of variables. Do you even know if he was in the room or was it his agent or both? Who was talking in there? Tons of variables like I said and I’m providing my analysis based on his response (press conference) and no rumors he’s disgruntled.

omg, did you even stop for a second and listen to yourself. What do you think the player was going to say. They screwed me, I can't wait to get out of here?
Even PLD came back and said all the right things. Then he was eventually like F it, trade me.
Teams don't go in there "with a bunch of comparables" and say nothing but nice things about the player. They go in there justifying why they should have to pay them less. Don't you get that. That's why it ends up bad.
The first sign of a problem about to leave is you can't sign a deal and then have arbitration. It's every red flag.
But I'm done arguing. We'll agree to disagree and next year when he bolts you'll get it.

PLD played like he was disinterested and that’s putting it nicely, find me one shift where Bert did that. You can’t. PLD also didn’t go through arbitration, he wasn’t eligible. Bertuzzi elaborated on the arbitration process and didn’t need to. He could’ve easily said it’s over, let’s play. Did I say anything about the team going in there saying nice things? No, I didn’t. I said the team goes in there with comps and a statistical analysis which is quantifiable data, hard to argue with numbers. That’s how a professional organization does arbitration and I’m sure Bert is well aware of the process as he elected for it and has an agent plus former NHL family members. So again, I ask do you have any source to support your speculation? Ive provided words straight from Bertuzzi’s & Yzerman’s mouth and CBA verbiage. Even if he does leave it’s not the end of the word, he’s not a core piece that’s going to derail Detroit’s rebuild. If anything it would allow Yzerman the opportunity to get assets back that are better aligned with our new core (Seider, Raymond, Zadina, Larkin). I’m just merely commenting on your post because you’re saying opinions like they’re facts.