Red Wings ink Larkin to 8-year, $69.6M extension

The Detroit Red Wings signed captain Dylan Larkin to an eight-year contract extension that carries an average annual value of $8.7 million, the team announced Wednesday.

Larkin was due to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. His previous deal, signed in 2018, paid him $6.1 million yearly.

The Michigan native was subject to trade rumors this deadline season due to his uncertain contract status, but Larkin said in February he only sees himself as a Red Wing.

Larkin's new deal doesn't include any signing bonus and features a no-trade clause for the first five years. Afterward, he can submit a list of 10 teams to whom he could be dealt, according to Puckpedia. Larkin was already Detroit's highest-paid player, but even after his lucrative new deal, the Red Wings have an estimated $23.5 million in cap space for next season, according to CapFriendly.

Detroit drafted Larkin 15th overall in 2014, and he's appeared in 563 games with the club since. The 26-year-old is in the midst of a career season with 57 points in 59 contests and is posting terrific underlying numbers at both ends of the ice.

The Red Wings' playoff chances have taken a hit recently due to a three-game losing streak, but they remain in the mix. They sit five points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 22 games remaining.