Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings are heading into training camp with more questions than answers, and one of them might actually be interesting.
Larkin still wants out. He asked for a trade at his exit interview and would reportedly prefer Minnesota, Dallas, Vegas, or Florida over staying in Detroit.
None of those four teams have offered what the Wings actually want back, so the captain is stuck wearing a sweater he's already asked to leave.
Larkin is coming off a 67-point season, 34 goals and 33 assists in 74 games, carrying an $8,700,000 cap hit into a contract with term left on it.
Complicating all of it: Detroit still hasn't hired a permanent general manager, and any move this complicated needs someone in that chair to actually execute it.
That's the backdrop. But buried in a completely different storyline sits a name that could reshape this roster if the front office ever gets settled.
Columbus is stuck in its own standoff with center Adam Fantilli, who just posted 59 points on 24 goals and 35 assists across 82 games last season.
Why Fantilli could be the wild card fix for Detroit's center problem
Ryan Lambert of The Hockey News named Detroit as a real offer-sheet threat, pointing to roughly $19.5 million in cap space and every first-round pick for four years.
Install Fantilli as the new top-line center, and Detroit suddenly has an answer to the exact problem a Larkin trade would create up the middle.
There's a real logic to it. Move out the disgruntled captain, bring in a younger center already producing at a similar level, and let the picks smooth out the return.
But none of that happens without a GM actually in place to sign off on a Larkin trade and chase an offer sheet in the same summer.
Is Detroit really positioned to pull off two of the boldest moves in the league at once? Right now, that's a fun idea sitting well ahead of the front office's ability to execute it.
Training camp is closing in fast, and Detroit still hasn't solved the one problem that has to get fixed before any of the interesting stuff can happen.
Should the Red Wings pursue Adam Fantilli with an offer sheet?
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