Dylan Larkin to Attend Red Wings’ Training Camp

Early in the summer, Larkin’s trade request leaked to the public and quickly turned the fanbase against him. Instead of walking it back, or addressing it in any way like Zach Werenski did, Larkin stayed quiet and tried to maneuver a trade to his preferred destinations. That clearly didn’t work and now he is set to skate in front of a very surly fanbase in a matter of weeks.

The statement also says that Larkin’s focus right now is on the coming season and that he will speak with the next management group in Detroit about the direction of the team, technically leaving the door open for him to stick around long-term. However, the inevitable fanbase reaction in the arena is likely to lead him to broaden his list of possible destinations.

Who’s Your Captain?

The Red Wings’ attached announcement made it official that Larkin is no longer going to serve as Detroit’s captain, which felt inevitable for a leader who asked his way out and is still clearly hoping to be dealt shortly. The team is going to be without a captain at least until the next management team is named, though I’m sure the dressing room and the coaches have a good idea of who is next up as the captain of one of the NHL’s most storied franchises.

Re-visiting the Trade Request

Larkin will attend Red Wings’ training camp where he is likely to be exposed to a ton of scrutiny from the media and the hometown fans. I don’t think there are many NHL players who would willingly subject themselves to a rowdy, booing home arena for more than a couple of weeks, so I don’t expect Larkin will want to stick around for very long.

The team was unwilling to share details about Larkin’s trade request or how they will handle it going forward. However, the statements from both the team and player make it clear that conversations will pick right back up when the next management team is announced. The main reason Larkin hasn’t been dealt yet is that he can essentially submit a no-trade list as big as he’d like because of his no-movement clause and has reportedly been very picky with his desired destinations.

How many times he will be willing to hear boos in his home arena before he expands his trade list is the big question for this Red Wings season, and could be a massive determining factor in much of the future of this franchise.