Dylan Larkin voices thoughts on contract talks

One of the biggest decisions coming up for Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is the future of captain and Michigan native forward Dylan Larkin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. A recent report indicated that the two sides are around $1 million apart in their current negotiations, fueling speculation that it could in fact be a bit harder than originally anticipated to get a deal worked out. 

Meanwhile, fellow forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who was expected to play a major role in Detroit's offense this season but has missed nearly three months of playing time due to breaking both hands in separate shot blocking incidents, is also a pending UFA who will need a new deal. 

"I just try and show up to the rink every day and be myself and play the game hard," Larkin said after Thursday's morning skate at Bell Centre in Montreal. "I try not to look at it and let my agent do it. It’s nothing anyone can really do about it, at least on my view of things. When something happens, there are conversations, there’s talk. But I’ve been trying to just focus on playing."

But according to Larkin, the key to just concentrating on hockey while his agent works on a deal is simply not focusing on social media.

"I think the biggest part is being off social media," Larkin said. "It’s a place where people say whatever and they can not show their face or have their name or have anything associated to it, so it’s really not a valid source of information. There are certain people you can pay attention to, like the members of the media, but I don’t read it too much. I try not to let it affect me."

"It doesn’t seem like there are any hard feelings, it is just the way it is going," he continued. "With Steve, I don’t really expect anything else. It’s been very professional and we’ve had a lot of conversations about the team and certain things that come up during a season with guys or whatever it may be. It’s been pretty status quo."

Will a deal get worked out between the two sides?