Dylan Larkin’s trade request leaked in early June. The reason for Larkin wanting out was multi-layered. The main culprits were tension with former GM Steve Yzerman, a lack of success in Detroit, and a brief dance with victory in the Olympics with Team USA. Now, Larkin has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means he gets to decide where he ends up being traded. In an ironic twist of fate, it is Larkin’s reasons for wanting out that are making this trade take forever, and potentially not even happen this season. Let’s dive into it.
Beef With Yzerman
Larkin was supposed to be Steve Yzerman version two. Their career trajectories were becoming very similar; two highly-skilled centers drafted by the Red Wings who became steadfast leaders after dealing with years of losing and bad teams. Yzerman stuck around, led the Red Wings to three Stanley Cups and became a hero for every Detroit sports fan. As GM, however, he didn’t quite notch the same legacy in Motown.
Larkin and Yzerman’s relationship had multiple moments of tension. First, Larkin thought he should’ve been named captain sooner. After Zetterberg left, the Red Wings went two and a half seasons before naming Larkin captain, leaving the position vacant. The next squabble came when Larkin signed his contract, an eight year, $8.7 million AAV deal. Yzerman is notoriously tight-fisted with contracts, and the negotiations left the Larkin camp exhausted. Less than two days after the ink dried, Yzerman traded his best friend, Tyler Bertuzzi. Larkin cried in his media availability, during what should’ve been an all-smiles kind of occasion.
The main reason Larkin wasn’t happy with Yzerman, however, was the lack of support late in the year. Yzerman almost never made deals at the trade deadline, and even when he did, it was depth roster moves. In the 2023-24 season, the team lost out on the playoffs via a tiebreaker. In 2024-25, the team missed by just four points. After the 2025 season, Larkin took to the media to say that the team could’ve used some help, and that the lack of anything during the trade deadline left the room feeling flat. Last season, with his seat getting hot, Yzerman did make a move. He acquired Justin Faulk for a first round pick, but it just wasn’t enough.
The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs in ten years. They weren’t relevant during Yzerman’s time. Yzerman was the main reason Larkin wants out. In what may have been a last ditch effort from the Red Wings’ brass to keep Larkin, Yzerman was asked to resign. He left the GM role vacant on July 15, just a month after the trade request went public. Yzerman leaving did not change Larkin’s mind. The problem is, GMs make the trades. Larkin needs a GM in order to get out of Detroit. Two months later, (Yes, two months), Shawn Horcoff was named interim GM of the Red Wings.
Larkin has himself to blame, a little bit, for the slowness of this process. This trade is potentially the biggest deal in the modern history of the Detroit Red Wings. This deal, good or bad, will alter the course of history for this organization. Shawn Horcoff is a smart man; he knows the scale of this, and that is exactly why he doesn’t want to move fast on this. An interim GM should never have to deal with a deal of this magnitude. This is like being a chef, and on your first day Gordon Ramsey orders a beef Wellington. Horcoff will not make a deal until the stars align. The stars are not aligning anytime soon. Here’s why.
Larkin’s Quest For Success
Ten years without the playoffs in Detroit. Larkin got a glimpse of playoff hockey once as a rookie, then never again. Larkin is now 30 years old, he is at the tail end of his prime. Larkin wants to win, and win now. He got the taste of sweet victory at the Winter Olympics in Italy last year, but that’s the only thing occupying Larkin’s trophy case. The Olympics is a separate issue which we will get to. For now, let’s talk about Larkin’s dreams of glory in the NHL.
The issue here is more straightforward than his tension with Yzerman. Larkin wants to be on a cup-contender. Larkin’s trade list includes ten teams: the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth and Washington Capitals. All stellar teams in this league, and all teams who would become cup favorites if Larkin was on their team. If that’s the case, what’s the reason for the logjam?
Well, Detroit wants to stay competitive themselves. They can’t afford to trade Larkin for draft picks, that would lose the moral of the current iteration of the Red Wings (the ones that actually want to stay and win in Detroit). The Red Wings need bonafide stars, now. Namely, a center. A centerman with the leadership, ability, two-way mentality and competitiveness of a true superstar. So…. Dylan Larkin. In order to stay competitive, the Red Wings need this trade to be for another Larkin. There’s the snag.
Teams who want Larkin don’t want to give up someone of his caliber in return; what would be the point? Larkin is a fantastic player, but he’s not the one-in-a-million guy you trade your entire organization for. Teams with a high-powered center will not want to trade him for Larkin, and teams who don’t have a center like that can’t offer a package in return.
A deal could be made with other teams around the league who could meet Detroit’s demands and are willing to, the problem is that those teams are not on Larkin’s trade list. Larkin wants to win. Teams that are winning don’t want to give up good pieces in a deal. Good pieces are how this trade finally gets done.
It seems we have reached an impasse.
Larkin’s Olympic Glory
Larkin drank from the chalice of victory in Italy. The United States’ first gold metal in men’s hockey since the Miracle On Ice in 1970. For many of the players, it was their first real victory in professional hockey as an adult, Larkin included. However, it seems this taste of victory is addictive. After the Red Wings missed the playoffs once again last season, Larkin started having withdrawals. So did his Olympic teammates.
Brady Tkachuk left his captaincy in Ottawa to play in Florida with his brother. Quinn Hughes left Vancouver for the rising stars in Minnesota (this was two months before the Olympics, but the Olympic team was having practices). Most recently, star goalie Connor Hellebuyck was traded to New Jersey from Winnipeg. Firstly, you’ll notice that these are American players leaving Canadian franchises. You might’ve also noticed that Larkin’s trade list doesn’t include any Canadian teams. Nationalistic prejudice aside, there’s a bigger issue here.
Clearly, something happened in that Olympic locker room. Players talked, and potentially expressed their frustrations with their failing teams. What happened this offseason was unparalleled. Everyone knows why Larkin wants out, as well as the catalyst that caused his trade request. That’s because the same story happened with multiple other stars across the league. That’s a little thing in the business world known as leverage.
Other GMs know the Detroit Red Wings are not what Larkin wants. Other teams know the who, what, when, where and why of Larkin’s trade request. They have the advantage of playing the waiting game. The odds of Larkin changing his mind and deciding to stay in Detroit are very small. Larkin’s very existence in Detroit is a distraction, and everyone knows that it’s not good for the locker room. Detroit wants a perfect compensation for Larkin. Other teams know they can get a better deal if Larkin is unhappy, his unhappiness causing distraction.
I should mention, I don’t feel great writing about a human being like this. Larkin, as a man, has dealt with a lot of pain and loss in his life, and he doesn’t deserve to have his unhappiness measured on a scale like this. However, this is how deals are done, and this is how GMs view the situation, as cold and unfeeling as it is. That’s just business, sadly.
End Of My Larkin Trade Rant
As a Red Wings fan, this sucks. The guy who was supposed to be the homegrown kid to lead us to glory, now he wants out in a messy, public divorce. In terms of how it will go down, Larkin made his bed with this, and he’ll have to sleep in it.
Larkin didn’t like Yzerman as GM; now Yzerman is gone, and an interim GM is going to go as slowly as possible with this deal. Larkin wants to win now, so his trade list is made up of teams who, realistically, just don’t have the assets (or aren’t willing to part with them) in order to get this deal done. Larkin followed in the footsteps of his Olympic teammates and wants to chase the dragon of the gold medal. Now, potential trade partners have a leg up on Detroit, thus slowing this deal even more.
At the end of the day, I’m predicting that the deal will eventually be made. Larkin’s legacy in Detroit will end with more boos, accusations of being a traitor, and a gross taste in the mouth of Red Wings’ faithful. The slow, drawn-out process of making this deal happen certainly doesn’t help. As for Larkin, I hope he finds that success he’s chasing, and I hope it burns him when the Red Wings eventually do the same.
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Check out my article on the future of NHL contracts here: https://www.stadiumrant.com/the-future-of-nhl-contracts-is-changing-drastically-these-3-massive-deals-prove-it/
