Dylan Larkin leaving the Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman just revealed his departure date

Strap in, Red Wings fans, as we're going to report on some good, but could be troubling news when it counts (say 15 years from now).

While the Detroit Red Wings failed to make a splash in free agency, missing out on players like Brock Boeser, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett, we got to hear Steve Yzerman drop some truth on us all. Or more accurately, was it a Freudian slip?

Either way, we know how long Yzerman believes Dylan Larkin will be a Red Wing after witnessing the Panthers sign 37-year-old Marchand to a six-year deal.

Given that Larkin has spent the majority of his 9-year career in Detroit, Yzerman feels confident that he can get another 15 years out of the grizzled, 70-point forward wearing the winged wheel.

Larkin is in year 3 of his 8-year contract, which pays him $8.7 million AAV, a contract he's earned since he is the Captain and one of the most reliable players in the lineup.

The only question is when he finishes this contract out with the Red Wings, he'll have been in a Red Wings sweater the majority of his career, upwards of 16 years in 2030-31.

Will he be slow and incapable of being the 1C we've known him to be, or will he drop in the lineup as the team is Stanley Cup bound?

We'd love to see him stick around longer, but given the chaos of free agency, it's difficult to tell where his next steps will take him.

Given how superstar forwards end up, it won't be difficult to see him making a reduced salary in the lineup while the newblood leads the way in the future.

The rebuild isn't over just yet.