Red Wings sign Dylan Larkin to 5-year extension

DETROIT, Mich — The Red Wings have re-signed forward Dylan Larkin to a five-year extension, the team announced Friday morning.

The 22-year-old Waterford native is coming off a big 62-point season, he was also the final RFA signing that the team needed to take care of before training camp starts later this summer.

There was a lot of speculation as to what the Red Wings would do with Larkin — if they would sign him longer term, or put him on a bridge deal. This contract will lock him up into his late 20’s... Craig Custance of The Athletic reports that his contract is worth $6.1 million annually:

That means the contract is worth $30.5 million. Larkin will be an unrestricted free agent at the expiration of this deal and is not eligible for a NTC/NMC prior to the 2022-23 season. We’ll update this as we learn more details from the team.

According to Capfriendly’s site, the Red Wings currently sit at a 22-man roster (14F, 6D, 2G) and are about $3.3M over the cap after taking Johan Franzen’s LTIR into consideration. Cheaper-option forwards like Filip Zadina and Michael Rasmussen are not included on that roster, so it will remain to be seen how the Wings will clear enough space to ice an opening day roster.

UPDATE: Official Presser from the Wings

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today re-signed center Dylan Larkin to a five-year contract.

Larkin, 22, skated in his third NHL season in 2017-18 and nearly doubled his point total from the year prior by producing a team-best 63 points (16-47-63) in 82 games after 32 points (17-15-32) over 80 games in 2016-17. He became the fifth-youngest player in franchise history to lead the team in scoring, trailing only Steve Yzerman (18 years and 10 months in 1983-84), Mark Osborne (20 years and seven months in 1981-82), Marcel Dionne (20 years and seven months in 1971-72) and Dale McCourt (21 year and two months in 1977-78). The Waterford, Mich., native also ranked among Red Wings leaders with 82 games played (T1st), 16 goals (T3rd), 47 assists (1st), 61 penalty minutes (3rd), eight power-play points (T8th), two shorthanded goals (T1st), four game-winning goals (T1st), 232 shots on goal (1st), 19:50 average time on ice (4th, and most among the team’s forwards) and 56 takeaways (1st). He reached a pair of milestones in 2017-18, tallying 100 career points on Dec. 2 at Montreal and skating in his 200th NHL game on Jan. 5 vs. Florida.

Originally drafted by the Red Wings in the first round (15th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Larkin has appeared in 242 games with Detroit since 2015-16, registering 140 points (56-84-140), which is tied for fourth-most among his draft class. He debuted for Detroit at age 19, making him the first teenager to play in the team’s opening-night lineup since Mike Sillinger in 1990-91. During his rookie campaign in 2015-16, Larkin was named to the NHL All-Star Game and set the NHL’s fastest skater record during the Skills Competition, posting a lap time of 13.172 seconds to break Mike Gartner’s 20-year-old record. Internationally, Larkin has represented the United States on four occasions at the IIHF World Championship, most recently earning bronze while serving as an alternate captain at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark. He also skated for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup.

Prior to his professional career, Larkin spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2012-14 prior to spending one season at the University of Michigan in 2014-15. He was named the Big Ten Rookie of the Year while earning a spot on the conference’s First All-Star Team after producing 47 points (15-32-47) in 35 games for the Wolverines. Larkin also scored five goals at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship to lead the tournament in goals. He went on to sign with the Red Wings and make his professional debut with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins during their postseason run, picking up five points (3-2-5) in six games.