Detroit — It looks bad, for all sides. Dylan Larkin’s trade request makes him look weak, the hometown captain asking to bail. It also makes Steve Yzerman look weak, the longtime captain/GM struggling mightily to restore the Red Wings, and can’t even hang onto a foundational piece.
The news was surprising although it shouldn’t have been. If we didn’t exactly see it coming, we could hear it coming, in Larkin’s depressed demeanor and soft-spoken criticism of Yzerman, and Yzerman’s occasional sharp snap back.
It looks like a disaster, but it doesn’t have to be. No need to turn Larkin into a villain, and no need to demand Yzerman be ousted. I think Larkin ultimately is doing the Wings a favor, forcing Yzerman to shake up a stale roster in a 10-year playoff drought. At 29, it was Larkin’s most forceful act as captain, and that’s not a compliment, but an indictment.
In a way, Larkin and Yzerman were hamstringing each other the past few years, and now it’s clear. The Wings have lacked leadership on the ice, and although it’s not all Larkin’s fault, he’s the captain. The Wings have lacked talent and toughness on the ice, and although it’s not all Yzerman’s fault, seven years into a massive rebuild, he’s been slow to adjust.
No choice now. When Todd McLellan laments “we have some guys that are just jerseys” after a listless March loss, that’s not only a brutal critique from a coach. It’s an unambiguous sign the roster needs a major overhaul.
Yzerman took a tentative step at the deadline this year, sending a first-round pick to St. Louis for veteran defenseman Justin Faulk, who was productive. Best-case scenario with Larkin? Yzerman takes a big swing for Toronto captain Auston Matthews, 28, who reportedly was mulling options under a new regime but wasn’t on the trade block. If he becomes attainable, it’d be a great deal for the Wings — who’d have to add a first-round pick and more — maybe not so much for Larkin. But for all their dysfunction, the Maple Leafs are always in the playoffs, missing this year for the first time in a decade.
Obviously, Larkin’s no-trade provision complicates matters, but whether he’s a No. 1 center or a No. 2, few become available. Others such as New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson have been connected to the Wings. Interestingly, the Blues reportedly might take center Robert Thomas off the trade market until the Larkin issue is resolved. The suitors for Larkin may be limited to teams ready to win now, but if that’s solely his goal, he and agent Pat Brisson will have to work with Yzerman.
Larkin made his bold move, and now Yzerman must make his. After the furor dies down, that’s the possible benefit.
Finding a partner
Yzerman didn’t draft Larkin, and in fact, after assuming the top job here in 2019, Yzerman took nearly two years to give Larkin the captaincy. Larkin is terrifically skilled but doesn’t have a classic captain’s feisty edge to demand accountability from teammates. The Wings do have a solid young core, including Moritz Seider, the next likely captain, Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson. They have promising goalies in the system — Sebastian Cossa, Michal Postava, Trey Augustine — and other trade chips.
Larkin has leverage, but Yzerman, a famously difficult negotiator, has ample ammo too. Larkin likely will give the Wings a list of a few teams — maybe Minnesota, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Florida — but if Yzerman can’t make a deal, I suspect he won’t. Or he could take a long time considering it. Throughout his front-office career, he’s shown a pattern of patience that approaches stubbornness, and drew hard lines in high-profile disputes in Tampa involving stars Martin St. Louis and Jonathan Drouin.
Yzerman was masterful with the Lightning but limited here, with the Wings lacking impact stars the past decade. Larkin would easily be the most valuable Wing that Yzerman has traded. Others he dealt — Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek, Anthony Mantha — were mostly for first-round picks, and didn’t carry close to Larkin’s credentials.
And Larkin’s credentials don’t come close to other NHL stars who were stuck in tough situations and maneuvered their way out. Mitch Marner did it, forcing his way out of Toronto, and he just recorded a hat trick to help Las Vegas take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Star defenseman Quinn Hughes did it, forcing a move from Vancouver to Minnesota, a deal Yzerman reportedly declined to make because Hughes wouldn’t commit to Detroit long-term. Now, because of his close ties to the fellow Wolverine, Larkin is strongly linked to Minnesota.
Larkin has seen how it can work and perhaps is emboldened by the possibility. In fact, the Wings’ biggest acquisition under Yzerman was Alex DeBrincat, who wanted out of Ottawa.
Matthew Tkachuk famously did it, forcing a trade from Calgary to Florida and immediately won two Cups there. His brother, Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk, expressed frustration after an early playoff exit but has not requested a trade. Even the great Connor McDavid weighed his options, signing only a two-year extension seemingly to nudge Edmonton to win or trade him.
The face of a drought
Larkin’s humble, low-key persona and local ties — Waterford native, University of Michigan star — seemingly made him immune, with five years left on his contract. But late-season collapses the past four seasons were crushing. Yzerman deserves blame for not making it work, for not being bolder in the trade market. But Larkin deserves blame for not rising in all those fateful Marches, when the Wings inexplicably blew leads.
Larkin often played through injuries, and no one questions his speed and talent — 30-plus goals five straight seasons — or his determination. He’s a likeable face of the franchise, but unfortunately (and a bit unfairly), a face of the playoff drought. He shined at international events such as the Olympics and the Four Nations, playing with a fervor and flash that was stunted here, whether by injury or a soft roster.
Sitting at or above the playoff line, the Wings went 5-9-1, 3-9-2, 4-10-0 and 5-7-2 the past four Marches, a nifty 17-35-5 record. Larkin has suffered unfortunate injuries at various times, but when he was out there, he contributed to the slump. This season he had a career-high in goals (34), but managed only five in five-on-five situations, zero in March.
We don’t need to re-litigate the mini-clashes between Yzerman and Larkin or assign percentages of blame. The discord reportedly began during tough negotiations in 2023, when Larkin eventually signed an eight-year contract. It was a big investment in years, and a decent deal for the Wings.
Their differences were publicly evident in 2025, when Yzerman made no significant trades at the deadline and the Wings narrowly missed the playoffs. After the season, Larkin lamented, “We didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline, and guys were kinda down about it.”
A few days later, Yzerman jabbed back with a prepared statement, and added, “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. That’s the expectation.”
Both later downplayed the rift, but the message was clear. In the end, Larkin wasn’t wrong for wanting more, and eventually demanding more. Yzerman wasn’t wrong for wanting — and demanding — more out of his best players in pressure situations. It was obvious after the most recent collapse that something had to change, and someone had to force it.
A messy look, a sad outcome? Yep. But also an opportunity for Larkin to show more elsewhere, and for Yzerman to show he can make the type of impactful deal (or deals) the team needs.
Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@bobwojnowski
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: It looks ugly for Red Wings, but perhaps Larkin did Yzerman a favor
Reporting by Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
