After several months of negotiations, Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings have reached an agreement.
Larkin has signed an eight-year, $69.6 million extension with his hometown team, according to multiple reports Wednesday. The new deal will keep him off the free agent market this summer and in Detroit through his age-34 season.
The Red Wings captain and Waterford native is in the midst of a career year with 22 goals and 57 points in 59 games as he tries to lead Detroit back to the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season.
Larkin's $8.7 million average annual salary will make him the 12th highest-paid center in the NHL next season, tied with Sidney Crosby (who signed his deal 12 years ago). Centers Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid are the two highest-paid players overall at $12.6 and $12.5 million per year, respectively.
Locking up Larkin completes a crucial piece of business for Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, who now has the club's No. 1 center in place for the long haul. Larkin has earned that title by scoring at a near-point-per-game pace (0.97) over the last two seasons.
Fellow center Bo Horvat, who just signed an eight-year, $68 million extension with the Islanders, has produced 0.87 points per game the past two seasons. Mika Zibanejad, playing on the same contract as Horvat, has 1.09 points per game the past two seasons.
Larkin, 26, has always said he'd like to be a Red Wing for life, almost from the moment the team -- his team -- drafted him 15th overall in 2014. His dream is looking more and more like a reality.
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