Whatever your reaction is to Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin asking for a trade as reported on Thursday, June 4, you shouldn’t blame him for seeking a better opportunity to win with a team that isn’t stuck in an endless rebuild.
So don’t call him a traitor. Don’t call him a quitter. Don’t call him a coward.
The only thing anyone should call Larkin is a realist.
As in, he has seen enough from general manager Steve Yzerman’s feckless plan to face the sad reality that there’s little hope the Wings will end a 10-year playoff drought anytime soon and then somehow become a Stanley Cup contender over the next few years.
That unlikelihood is part of another stark reality Larkin faces. He turns 30 in July, which means he’s starting to run short on his chance to win a Cup during his prime.
And please don’t compare him to Matthew Stafford, who I believe crocodile-teared his way out of Detroit in 2021 not because he wanted to win but because he knew he would likely be replaced by a new regime that had a top-10 pick in what was considered a deep QB class in that year’s NFL draft.
Larkin’s situation is much different. He’s coming off one of his strongest seasons and faced no threat to his status on the team. The Waterford native and former Michigan Wolverine is about as homegrown as an athlete can get.
As one of Detroit’s most popular athletes, he could have easily decided to keep playing at home. He has a full no-trade clause this year and next, and could have comfortably ridden out the rest of his eight-year, $69.8 million contract extension that runs through the 2030-31 season.
Of course, that would mean he would head to free agency at 35 at the same time Yzerman would surely be promising the Wings are closer than ever to finally making the playoffs!
[ Steve Yzerman goes from defiant to subdued with no changes in sight for Wings ]
Difficult relationship between Yzerman and Larkin
When the news broke Thursday, some people expressed shock, even though they shouldn’t have been. Anyone who has been paying close attention knows Larkin and Yzerman haven’t had an ideal relationship.
Larkin has been visibly frustrated with some of Yzerman’s personnel decisions. He was literally moved to tears when he spoke about his friend and teammate, Tyler Bertuzzi, being shipped to Washington at the 2023 NHL trade deadline.
During locker cleanout after the 2024-25 season, when the Wings had been in playoff contention most of the season, Larkin criticized Yzerman for failing to add help at the trade deadline.
“We didn’t do anything and I felt the group – we didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline and guys were kind of down about it,” Larkin said. “It would be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well.”
Shortly afterward, Yzerman was terse at his season-ending press conference when asked about Larkin’s comments.
“I’ve addressed Dylan’s comments directly with Dylan,” he said, “and I will not elaborate on that in this room. If Dylan wants to share what I had to say with him, he’s more than welcome to.”
Yzerman then added this dig, referencing Larkin’s own words about needing a morale boost: “And again, I will say, like, I’m counting on our best players, our leaders, to give us a bit of a morale boost. That’s what they’re paid for, and that’s the expectation from them.”
It felt then like a brewing power struggle between the two most important figures in the organization. And that’s not a tenable situation.
Uncertainty spilled over into this past season. On Oct. 15, during the intermission of a 4-1 win over Florida at Little Caesars Arena, Yzerman was interviewed on TNT’s telecast and tried to play down friction with Larkin.
“I don’t wanna speak for Dylan,” he said. “I’d like to think we have a great relationship. I enjoy talking with him. He’s very open with me. We communicate very well. I think we have a great relationship.”
Of course, winning solves everything and when the Wings got off to a strong start, any whispers or thoughts about possible acrimony seemed to dissipate.
Or so I thought.
Then something happened that made me think everything wasn’t fixed between the two.
On Dec. 23, the Wings played a great game at Little Caesars Arena against the mighty Dallas Stars. The Wings won, 4-3, in overtime and Larkin was the star. He scored late in the third period and then netted the winner in OT.
The win vaulted the Wings to the top of the Atlantic Division and tied them with Carolina for the best record in the East. I gave Yzerman credit for getting the team on track and especially for making the bold move of firing coach Derek Lalonde almost exactly a year prior and replacing him with Todd McLellan.
When I asked Larkin how much credit Yzerman deserved for making that hard choice that led to the team’s winning ways, he gave a very odd answer.
“Um … yeah,” he said haltingly. “I think it’s something that definitely happened. We’re not going to deny that it happened.
“I actually knew Todd before, but I didn’t know that it was going to happen at that time and we did it and it’s worked out. So I would give Steve all the credit because he’s the one who made the change.”
Wait … we’re not going to deny that it happened? I almost couldn’t believe my ears. It was one of the most backhanded compliments [with the gloves off] I’ve ever heard.
Puck prescience
I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, or dunk on any haters who disagreed with me, but I wrote a column in February 2025 advocating for Larkin’s trade if the Wings were to miss the playoffs that season and then this season, which is exactly what happened.
My premise was based on the idea that Larkin wasting his prime years in Detroit because he had just come off a strong performance for Team USA in a win against Canada in the epic 4-Nations Face-Off tournament.
But that was nothing compared to the Americans’ gold-medal victory over Canada in February at the Milan Olympics.
My guess is playing and winning on some of hockey’s highest stages underscored for Larkin how much he had missed out on being part of a championship team, or at least a serious contender, while suffering through so much misery in the process.
I wrote that out of respect for Larkin as a player. He has been too good as an offensive producer with excellent defensive effort and instincts to wither away in obscurity for a non-contender.
Let’s remember this doesn’t have to end badly for the Wings and their fans. Even though the Wings won’t have the negotiating advantage – thanks to an unhappy player – Larkin’s value is still high enough to get a decent return.
What is that? It’s impossible to say. But I would start by making the most obvious phone call to the guy who drafted Larkin: Ken Holland, now the GM of the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings need to fill the void left by the retirement of Anže Kopitar, who also was an excellent two-way center. If the Wings get 23-year-old center Quinton Byfield (24 goals, 25 assists in 2025-26) plus some prospects and picks in return, a fresh start could work out for everyone.
And instead of calling Larkin all kinds of derogatory names, maybe we could just call it a win for everyone involved.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Don’t blame Dylan Larkin for not wanting to waste prime with Red Wings
Reporting by Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
