Dylan Larkin still won't open the door to the Montreal Canadiens, and Kent Hughes is running out of patience.
The Detroit Red Wings captain wants out. That part isn't in question anymore.
But according to Renaud Lavoie on TVA Sports, Montreal simply isn't on his list.
"If Dylan Larkin had accepted a trade to Montreal, he would be a member of the Canadiens," Lavoie said flatly on the broadcast.
He admitted he can't make sense of the refusal. Neither can a lot of people around the league.
People close to Larkin have reportedly pitched him hard on the Montreal market. He hasn't budged.
His no-trade clause turns personal preference into a wall Hughes can't climb over.
The four teams Larkin will actually accept
Sources indicated back in the spring that three teams topped his list: the Florida Panthers, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild.
The Dallas Stars have reportedly joined that group since. Montreal still hasn't cracked it.
David Pagnotta reported that Larkin's stance has stayed firm no matter who ends up running the Red Wings front office.
That's a brutal detail for Hughes. It means this isn't about Detroit's management. It's about Montreal specifically.
Larkin would have solved a real problem for the Canadiens at second-line center, a spot they've been patching together for years.
Instead, Hughes went out and signed Chris Kreider in free agency, addressing the need from a completely different angle.
Kreider brings size and a scoring pedigree. He doesn't replace a true number two center, and that gap hasn't closed.
Todd McLellan still has Larkin in Detroit heading into Tuesday's game against the Penguins, with no resolution in sight.
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The no-trade clause isn't going anywhere, and neither, it seems, is Larkin's refusal.
Should the Canadiens keep waiting on Dylan Larkin or move on for good?
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