Larkin Suspended After Refusing to Play

Detroit Red Wings former captain Dylan Larkin has been suspended by the team, having informed them that he intended to sit out of the lineup until he is traded.

https://t.co/hJGY5RVpqy

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 29, 2026

It’s the latest chapter in an ongoing saga of dysfunction around the organization.

Larkin’s desire to be traded away from his hometown team leaked in June and then-general manager Steve Yzerman “transitioned” out of the role in mid-July. The team waited until the eve of training camp to announce Shawn Horcoff as interim general manager.

Reportedly, Larkin originally would only accept a trade to the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, or Vegas Golden Knights. He has since expanded the list to include the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth, and Washington Capitals. Notably, most of those teams do not have either the salary cap space or assets to acquire Larkin.

Against this backdrop, top-pairing restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned. He came to training camp on a professional try-out but then briefly returned to Sweden before coming back to the United States. He reportedly is also interested in being traded. If he does not sign by December 1, he will be ineligible for the rest of this season.

I’m admittedly a relatively bitter person, generally speaking. I hope that when this saga is done, any idea of Larkin acting in good faith is wiped out. Yeah, he showed up to camp and was present in the room and on the ice. That’s more than Connor Hellebuyck did in Winnipeg before his deal to New Jersey last week.

He’s also looked slow and disinterested. He’s put up fewer points than Emmitt Finnie or Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. It’s March and April Dylan Larkin out there, not October Dylan Larkin, and it’s pretty obvious.

He signed a deal and now he’s not happy with that deal. It happens. He’s not some hero for having partially honored it.