NHLTR Mock Trade: Golden Knights Make Massive 2-For-1 Deal for Dylan Larkin

The Vegas Golden Knights came within two wins of a Stanley Cup, but will spend this offseason trying to figure out what they need to do to take those last steps.

Anytime there's a shiny new toy on the market, Vegas is usually one of the first in line to try to acquire it. Would the newly available Dylan Larkin be of interest?

The Detroit Red Wings captain has asked for a trade out of the Motor City, and though Vegas has Jack Eichel, William Karlsson (when healthy) and Tomas Hertl down the middle, it would be hard for them to turn down the chance to acquire Larkin.

To that end, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff has proposed a massive 2-for-1 deal that could work to get it done.

Vegas Golden Knights receive:

Dylan Larkin

Detroit Red Wings receive:

Pavel Dorofeyev (RFA)
Tomas Hertl

Golden Knights face difficult cap crunch this summer

It seems like an awful lot to give up, but the Golden Knights' tough cap situation plays into this. They are projected to have just $4.6 million in salary cap space this summer—and that's before figuring out a way to re-sign pending UFA Rasmus Andersson.

Dorofeyev, as a restricted free agent, is in for a massive raise, which, on a long-term deal, is projected by AFP Analytics to come in at about a $9 million AAV.

Larkin makes $8.7M annually over the next five seasons. That would be a bump up of a couple of million from Hertl's salary slot ($6.75M). But without having to pay Dorofeyev, the Golden Knights could make it work.

The 25-year-old Russian winger has now firmly established himself as a legitimate star in this league, with his second straight 35+ goal season. But how the Knights could possibly re-sign him with their difficult cap crunch is a big conundrum.

Mystery solved with this hypothetical trade, though it would obviously hurt to lose him.

Red Wings would get big haul for Larkin in proposed deal with Golden Knights

From Detroit's side of the equation, this is about as good a result as they could hope for in light of Larkin's trade demand. They get a top-six center in Hertl, under contract for another four years at a lower cap hit, plus a rising star sniper in Dorofeyev. And at $29 million in projected cap space, the Wings have plenty of room to sign him.

Di Marco, however, says there is one "fly in the ointment" of this proposal, noting that Hertl has a 3-team approved trade list.