In Red Wings Land

Dave Pagnotta Has “A Source” on Larkin Talks

The Red Wings recently presented Larkin’s camp with a new offer – believed to have been presented this week – and it was “not received well,” one source said.

Larkin’s agent Pat Brisson declined to comment on negotiations, though the two sides remain in discussions despite a sizeable gap in demands.

As I explained in our latest edition of Market Rumblings, term is not believed to be the issue as both sides would like to work out a long-term contract, perhaps the max eight-years. It’s not surprise the debate seems to revolve around the dollars.

While I don’t know where each side stands, I’d imagine the young star centre is looking for at least $8 million on an AAV, and I’d wager Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is not currently primed to give Larkin north or that or anything around $9 million per season.

The bolded parts of this are my doing and the title is also not the original title (‘Red Wings, Larkin Far Apart in Contract Talks’), but I wanted to throw in a huge grain of salt because Dave Pagnotta’s reliability on things like this is questionable and he writes in his own piece plenty of red flags to help warn against taking any of this stuff at face value.

To recap, he’s willing to say  one source would tell him that the latest offer didn’t create a signed contract (duh), that it’s likely both sides want term and then he guesses as to what the AAV difference is. Neither the Red Wings nor Larkin’s agent would give any details so this is an educated guess being presented in such a way to drive clicks.

I suppose it’s working because I’m linking to it.

Around the League

Canucks fire Bruce Boudreau, hire Rick Tocchet as replacement – ESPN

“I’d be a fool to say I don’t know what’s going on,” Boudreau said. “But like I’ve said before, you come to work, and you realize how great the game is.”

It’s official now. It’s bittersweet because on the one hand I don’t like Rick Tocchet, but on the other hand I don’t know if I dislike Rick Tocchet enough to wish what’s coming to him upon anybody. They talk about Vancouver being a poisonous media and fan market but that’s only because that organization is rotten from the top.