Report: Larkin Requests Trade from Red Wings

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has requested to be traded.

Obviously there’s a lot to unpack there. I’ve done a bit of that on social media already, so some of this will be repeating myself.

Detroit’s current rebuild has been around Larkin and his prime years. With Larkin turning 30 this summer, those prime years are coming to an end sooner than later. There are a lot of ways that dealing Larkin could make sense for the long-term state of the team.

There’s no addition by subtraction here, though. Larkin’s departure would leave a massive hole in the lineup. And with him sitting on a no-trade clause, it’s worth questioning exactly what Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman would be able to get back in return for Larkin to fill that gap.

Prashanth Iyer has already taken a quick look at what dealing Larkin might look like and it’s probably not a one-for-one deal bringing back top talent. That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be a benefit to it, though.

There are dominoes to consider, as well. Any potential Larkin deal probably means the end of Alex DeBrincat’s time in Detroit. DeBrincat is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Moving him with a year of term left on his deal in a summer where the free agent options are limited could help the Red Wings collect assets. DeBrincat is also sitting on a (partial) no-trade clause, though.

And if DeBrincat is gone, it seems unlikely that Patrick Kane would want to return to Detroit. So that’s half of the Red Wings’ top six gone.

Those are big changes and they likely mean a step backward at a time when the fanbase is desperate for playoff hockey. They also come at a time when, for the first time since the Detroit Vipers folded in 2001, there’s an alternate hockey option in Detroit, with the PWHL expanding and placing a team in Little Caesars Arena next season. As such, I wonder how much appetite the Ilitch family will have to take that step backwards rather than finding a way to mend the relationship with Larkin.

All that said, if this request is true, it sours me on Larkin anyway.

In 2025, Larkin spoke out about how Yzerman should have bolstered the roster at the trade deadline, insinuating that it would have prevented the team’s collapse to close out the season.

At the 2026 deadline, Yzerman paid a first-rounder to bring in Justin Faulk for help on the blue line and brought back David Perron in an attempt to provide veteran leadership and bottom-six support. The team collapsed again anyway.

Now, seemingly instead of taking any ownership of that, the team’s captain reportedly asks for a trade out. As a fan, it’s hard not to have a “Screw that guy” response.

There are a lot of ways this can go. We’ll probably have to wait a bit to see how it plays out.